Vickers atop Sprint Cup leaderboard; Dillon, Buescher top Nationwide
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Sprint Cup Series Practice 1 | Results
Brian Vickers rose to the top of the heap in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice with a blisteringly fast lap at Texas Motor Speedway.
Vickers, driving the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota, clocked a best speed of 199.218 mph in preparation for Sunday's AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN), the eighth of 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup postseason. Vickers' lap was a shade better than the track record of 198.282 mph that Kevin Harvick registered in the first leg of knockout qualifying at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track in April.
Harvick -- the fastest title-eligible driver -- was second-best in the 90-minute session with a lap of 198.990 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Tony Stewart, Harvick's car owner and teammate, was third-fastest with Martin Truex Jr. and fellow Chase driver Jeff Gordon closing out the top five.
The event marks the second of three races in the Eliminator Round, which will determine the last four drivers with a shot at the title in the Sprint Cup Championship on Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The ranks of the other Chase drivers in first practice: Carl Edwards (7th), Denny Hamlin (12th), Joey Logano (20th), Ryan Newman (23rd), Brad Keselowski (24th) and Matt Kenseth (26th).
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled later Friday at 6:45 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Two more practices are scheduled Saturday before Sunday's 334-lap, 501-mile main event.
Nationwide Series final practice | Results
Austin Dillon, making just his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the season, launched atop the NASCAR Nationwide Series leaderboard in final practice Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway.
Dillon, driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet, turned in a best lap of 185.516 mph in the 90-minute session on the 1.5-mile track. The 2013 series champion was also fourth-fastest in the opening 50-minute practice.
Fellow Sprint Cup Series regular Joey Logano was second-fastest at 184.212 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford, matching his place in Friday's earlier practice. Trevor Bayne, Dillon teammate Brendan Gaughan and rookie Dylan Kwasniewski rounded out the top five.
Chase Elliott, the rookie atop the the Nationwide Series standings, was 17th-fastest among the 42 drivers getting track time. Regan Smith, his JR Motorsports teammate and nearest competitor just 42 points behind, was 18th-fastest.
Nationwide Series Practice 1 | Results
Chris Buescher jumped to the top of the leaderboard in opening NASCAR Nationwide Series practice Friday, logging a fast lap of 186.085 mph at Texas Motor Speedway. Buescher, driving the Roush Fenway Racing No. 60 Ford, surged to the top of the speed chart in the last 10 minutes of the 50-minute session.
Joey Logano was second-fastest at 185.255 in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford. He set the pace for most of the session, but brought out the only caution period when his car began to smoke.
Trevor Bayne, Buescher's Roush Fenway teammate, completed a 1-2-3 sweep of Fords on the 1.5-mile track. Austin Dillon, a former series champion making his first Nationwide start of the year, was fourth-fastest with Richard Childress Racing teammate Brian Scott completing the top five.
Rookie Chase Elliott, the series points leader, was 15th-fastest of the 40 drivers to participate in opening practice.
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