Thursday's practice recaps from Charlotte

SHR drivers all fast early; Bayne, Keselowski top NNS sessions

Sprint Cup Series practice 1 | Results

Kevin Harvick was fastest in Thursday’s opening practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Bank of America 500 event.

Harvick lapped the track at a speed of 196.192 mph. The No. 4 driver has two previous wins at the North Carolina track.

Second-fastest was Richard Childress Racing driver and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Austin Dillon with a speed of 196.107 mph.

Stewart-Haas Racing driver and co-owner Tony Stewart (195.327 mph), Jeff Gordon (195.016 mph) and Kurt Busch (194.911 mph) completed the leaderboard’s top five.

Dillon, Stewart, Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. were the non-Chase drivers in the top 10. All four SHR teammates were in the top seven.

Defending race winner Brad Keselowski came in as 31st-fastest (191.932 mph). The Team Penske driver, who was once the top seed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, now sits in 10th in the standings after a right-front tire issue sent him to the garage early at Kansas. The No. 2 driver now must race his way into the top eight in order to continue to the Eliminator Round.

Another driver who had a poor showing at Kansas that now finds himself in the bottom of the Chase running is seven-time Charlotte winner Jimmie Johnson. Johnson rounded the track at a speed of 194.049 mph coming in as 14th-fastest. The six-time Cup champion is currently sitting 12th in the Chase standings.

Nationwide Series practice 1 | Results

Trevor Bayne snuck by a dominant Kyle Busch late in opening Nationwide Series practice to top the session at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday afternoon.

On his 26th and final lap around the 1.5-mile speedway, the Roush Fenway Racing driver shot from sixth to first with a best speed of 180.856 mph, surpassing Busch’s high mark of 180.584 mph.

Busch was trailed by a pair of Team Penske drivers in Ryan Blaney (180.355 mph) and Brad Keselowski (180.108 mph).

Richard Childress Racing’s Brian Scott (179.683 mph) rounded out the top five, with and Bayne pushing his RFR teammate Chris Buescher (179.593 mph) to sixth.

Nationwide points leader Chase Elliott was eighth on the board, topping out at 179.027 mph over 35 laps. His closest points competitor, JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith, was 14th at 178.406 mph.

Nationwide Coors Light Pole Qualifying is Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET (ESPN2) with the Drive for the Cure 300 later at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

Nationwide Series practice 2 | Results

Alex Bowman is off to a good start in his debut with JR Motorsports, pulling a dominant last lap to break up a near-tie at the top of the charts and finish with the fastest speed in final Nationwide Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday evening.

Brad Keselowski (180.650 mph) and Dylan Kwasniewski (180.638) were separated by 0.002 seconds at the top when Bowman ran his 28th and final lap at a 181.245 clip to knock them down a peg.

A pair of Joe Gibbs Racing teammates in Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch were next on the charts at 180.210 and 180.054, respectively, to complete the top five.

Series points leader Chase Elliott was sixth at 179.904, while his teammate and closest points competitor Regan Smith was 20th at 177.515.

Coors Light Pole Qualifying is Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET (ESPN2) with the Drive for the Cure 300 later at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

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