Chase drivers take 13 of the top 17 spots in opening Cup practice
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Sprint Cup Series opening practice | Results
Kevin Harvick topped the opening 80-minute Sprint Cup Series practice at Dover International Speedway with a speed of 163.852 mph. Right behind Harvick was Brad Keselowski with a speed of 163.726 mph. Harvick has a solid hold on advancing to the Contender Round, while Keselowski’s win at Chicagoland Speedway automatically moved the current points leader to the next round. Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers took 13 of the top 17 spots in practice.
Jeff Gordon placed third in the session (163.562 mph) as he looks to improve this weekend on his seventh-place position in the standings. Jimmie Johnson, a nine-time winner at Dover International Speedway, was fifth in the session (163.369 mph) and is currently fourth in the standings.
Denny Hamlin (163.354 mph) and Kurt Busch (163.162 mph), two drivers currently on the outside looking in of moving on to the Contender Round, placed sixth and seventh in the session, respectively. Hamlin enters the Dover race six points out of the final spot, while Busch is eight points out. A win by either driver would advance them to the next round of the Chase.
Joey Logano (162.815 mph) was ninth in the session. He is automatically in the Contender Round due to his win last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth (162.690 mph) placed 10th in the session. He is eighth in the standings but his hold on a spot to advance is tenuous as just 12 points separate the drivers that eighth and 16th in the standings
Marcos Ambrose (fourth at 163.436 mph) was one of two non-Chase drivers to place in the top 10 of the session. Clint Bowyer (eighth at 163.014 mph), who has Jeff Burton on standby should his wife give birth to their first child this weekend, was the other.
Kyle Busch was 11th in the session (162.616 mph) and he is in good shape to advance to the Contender Round as he is in fifth place in the standings.
Carl Edwards (13th at 162.536 mph), Aric Almirola (14th at 162.470 mph), Ryan Newman (16th at 162.360 mph), Greg Biffle (17th at 162.162 mph) and Kasey Kahne (22nd at 161.761 mph) are in the log jam between eighth and 16 in the standings. They need strong showings at Dover to advance.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is in sixth place in the standings, placed 24th in practice (161.565).
Chase underdog AJ Allmendinger finished the lowest among the Chase drivers, in 25th, with a speed of 161.493 mph. He is currently in 10th place in the standings.
There was one caution in the practice for some fluid on track from the No. 40 car of Landon Cassill after an apparent blown engine.
There will be two 50-minute Sprint Cup Series practice sessions on Saturday. The first is at 11 a.m. ET and will be televised on FOX Sports 1. The second is at 2 p.m. ET and will be televised on FOX Sports 2.
Nationwide Series final practice | Results
Chris Buescher topped the final practice for the Nationwide Series at Dover International Speedway. After placing 11th in the opening session, Buescher topped the charts with a speed of 154.825 mph in the final 80-minute session.
Richard Childress Racing flexed its Nationwide program muscle once again with all four of its cars placing in the top eight of practice. Brendan Gaughan was second (153.991 mph) and Cale Conley was fourth (152.568 mph). Ty Dillon came in sixth (152.104 mph) while Brian Scott, who topped the first session, placed eighth (151.726 mph)
Aric Almirola, who is making his second Nationwide Series start of the season, placed third in the session (152.996 mph), while Trevor Bayne (152.517 mph) rounded out the top five.
Points leader Chase Elliott was 10th in the session with a speed of 151.330 mph.
Kyle Busch, who won at Dover in the spring, placed 11th in the session.
James Buescher, the driver of the No. 99 Toyota, will be forced to drive a backup car after the hood popped open and damaged his car during his initial run of final practice.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying will take place on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 with the Dover 200 taking place at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Nationwide Series opening practice | Results
Brian Scott, fresh off his runner-up finish last weekend at Kentucky Speedway, topped the opening Nationwide Series practice at Dover International Speedway with a speed of 153.191 mph.
Richard Childress Racing took the top three spots at Kentucky and four of the top six spots in the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 and the team showed its power in the opening practice with all four of the team’s drivers placing in the top 10. In addition to Scott, Cale Conley was second on the charts (152.478 mph), while last week’s winner at Kentucky, Brendan Gaughan was sixth in the session (151.815 mph) and Ty Dillon finished ninth (151.560 mph).
Points leader Chase Elliott was third for the 50-minute session with a speed of 152.458 mph.
Sprint Cup Series regulars Kyle Larson (152.400 mph) and Kyle Busch (152.162 mph) rounded out the top five, respectively. Busch won the spring race at the Monster Mile. He has four wins in the Nationwide Series at Dover.
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