Sprint Cup regular Dale Jr. posts top-10 speeds during both sessions
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XFINITY Series Practice 1 | Full results
Austin Dillon clocked the fastest lap in opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice Friday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Dillon, the only driver to break the 30-second barrier in the 55-minute session, drove the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 Chevrolet to a best lap of 180.977 mph on the 1.5-mile track. He'll be making his second XFINITY Series start of the season in Saturday's Boyd Gaming 300 (4 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second-fastest at 179.414 mph in the JR Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet that he co-owns. He was just ahead of JRM teammate Regan Smith, who registered the third-fastest lap at 178.453 mph. Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin completed the top five.
Joe Gibbs Racing wound up using two fill-in drivers in their three entries for Saturday's 300-miler. Matt Kenseth was an emergency sub in the No. 18 Toyota for rookie Daniel Suarez, who was treated in the infield care center for a stomach ailment. Suarez felt well enough to turn a handful of laps near the end of the session, but it was Kenseth who posted the team's best lap, a 177.363-mph speed that was ninth-fastest overall.
Hamlin will substitute all weekend in Gibbs' No. 54 Toyota for the injured Kyle Busch, who suffered multiple lower-leg injuries in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Defending series champion Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Elliott Sadler, Darrell Wallace Jr., Cale Conley, Ross Chastain, Kenseth, Earnhardt, Smith, Hamlin and Blaney were all held out of the first 15 minutes of practice. Their respective teams all served a penalty for being late to technical inspection last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
XFINITY Series co-leader Ty Dillon was sixth-fastest of the 35 drivers who participated in the opening season. Chris Buescher, who shares the top spot in the standings, was 13th-fastest.
Series regular Brian Scott didn't complete a lap after the engine in his Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet developed early trouble.
XFINITY Series final practice | Full results
Opening practice leader Austin Dillon continued to lay down fast lap times during Friday's final practice session for the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 33 driver propelled his Richard Childress Chevrolet around the Nevada oval at 182.927 mph.
After replacing the engine in his No. 2 ride, Brian Scott finally hit the track for the second practice. The lack of seat time a few hours earlier didn't seem to deter the Richard Childress Racing driver, as he posted the second-fastest speed, circling the speedway at 179.665 mph.
Rounding out the top five were RSS Racing's Ryan Sieg (179.384 mph), Richard Childress Racing's Brendan Gaughan (179.348 mph) and JR Motorsports' Regan Smith (179.301 mph).
Sprint Cup Series veteran Denny Hamlin is subbing for the injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota this weekend. After running the most laps during the final practice, Hamlin ranked seventh on the leaderboard.
Posting the ninth-fastest speed was JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is wheeling the team's No. 88 machine this week. JRM driver and reigning XFINITY champion Chase Elliott rounded the 1.5-mile track 18th-fastest in his No. 9 Chevrolet.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Daniel Suarez missed most of the first session due to a stomach ailment, but was back behind the wheel of his No. 18 Toyota by the final practice. He posted the 19th-fastest speed on the leaderboard.
The XFINITY Series will be back on track on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET, for the Coors Light Pole Qualifying with coverage on FOX Sports 2.
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