Kyle Busch’s 18-year-old sub impresses ahead of Sprint Cup debut
RELATED: Practice 1 results | Final practice results
Newcomer Erik Jones launched to the top of the leaderboard in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.
Jones, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota in place of the injured Kyle Busch, logged a fast lap of 191.306 mph on the 1.5-mile track. The 18-year-old driver, a regular in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will be making his first official Sprint Cup Series start in Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).
“There’s been a lot of people involved in the last two weeks getting ready for this,” Jones said after the 55-minute session. “Just really, really proud of this team … I think we’ve got a good shot at the pole, honestly. We’ll see how it goes.”
Jeff Gordon, the race’s defending winner, was second-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet at 191.184 mph. Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the top five.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET, televised on FOX Sports 1.
Harvick fast early in Kansas tune-up
Points leader Kevin Harvick set the early pace in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway.
Harvick, the defending Sprint Cup champion in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet, registered a fast lap of 190.772 mph in overcast conditions at the 1.5-mile track. The speed was well below the track record of 197.612 mph, set by Harvick in Coors Light Pole Qualifying last fall.
Joey Logano, the winner in the most recent race at Kansas last October, was second-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford with a mock qualifying run of 190.375 mph late in the 85-minute session. Carl Edwards was third-fastest, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota to a lap of 190.268 mph in preparation for Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM), the 11th of 36 races for the Sprint Cup Series this season.
Owner/driver Tony Stewart, a two-time Kansas winner, was fourth-fastest, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., last weekend’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, completing the top five.
Erik Jones was ninth-fastest in preparation for his official NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut, substituting for the injured Kyle Busch in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Jones, a regular in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, got his first taste of Sprint Cup racing last month at Bristol Motor Speedway in relief of JGR driver Denny Hamlin, but was not credited with a premier-series start.
David Ragan, who has driven as a fill-in for Busch in the past nine races, was 23rd-fastest in his first stint in place of Brian Vickers in the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota. Ragan was named as a more permanent substitute for Vickers, who remains sidelined indefinitely after a recurrence of blood clots in March.
Jeff Gordon, the defending race winner and the track’s only three-time victor, was 21st-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet.