Rookie edges Custer, Suarez atop Monster Mile leaderboard
RELATED: Practice results
Erik Jones rose to the top of the leaderboard Thursday afternoon in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice at Dover International Speedway.
Jones, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, turned a fast lap of 155.885 mph around the concrete mile in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota. He edged NASCAR Next driver Cole Custer, who was second-fastest at 154.819 mph in the JR Motorsports No. 00 Chevrolet.
Daniel Suarez, Jones’ KBM teammate in the No. 51 Toyota, was third-best at 154.579 mph in the two-hour, 25-minute session — the lone practice ahead of Friday’s Lucas Oil 200 (5:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). Cameron Hayley and Daniel Hemric, another pair of rookies, completed the top five on the leaderboard.
Series points leader and two-time defending champion Matt Crafton was 12th-fastest in the ThorSport Racing No. 88 Toyota. Crafton carries a 16-point lead over Jones into the 200-miler, the sixth of 23 races this season.
NASCAR Next driver Jesse Little briefly held the top spot on the leaderboard in his No. 97 Toyota, but settled for seventh-fastest ahead of his national series debut.
Keystone Light Pole Qualifying to set the 32-truck field is scheduled Friday at 12:45 p.m. ET.