Edwards, Busch fastest among "Tricky Triangle" competitors
RELATED: Practice 3 results | Sunday's Pocono starting lineup
Kyle Busch slapped the right side wall hard midway through the final Sprint Cup Series practice session at Pocono Raceway on Saturday.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver brought his No. 18 Toyota back to the garage for major damage fixes. After the repairs, his team sent the Coors Light Pole Award winner back out onto the track -- where he zoomed to the top of the leaderboard.
In an all-JGR sweep across two sessions, Busch joined Carl Edwards as a practice topper with a best speed of 175.240 mph. “Rowdy”, winner of three straight races, was followed by his brother, Kurt, at 175.067 mph.
Edwards (174.920 mph), Kevin Harvick (174.771 mph) and Jimmie Johnson (174.584 mph) rounded out the top five.
Early in the session, Jeb Burton lost control of his No. 26 ride and rocketed toward pit road, hitting the inside wall in a bizarre accident.
“That was my fault,” Burton told NASCAR on NBC. “ ... I just screwed up.”
Burton will switch to a backup car and start at the tail of the field.
Tony Stewart’s team also decided to switch out the transmission in his No. 14 Chevrolet. He was 18th in the session at 173.157 mph.
Tune in Sunday for the Windows 10 400 at Pocono (1:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Live Extra).
Practice 2 | Results
Joe Gibbs Racing continued its streak of recent dominance, placing its four drivers atop the leaderboard in Saturday's first Sprint Cup Series practice session at Pocono Raceway.
It's Kyle Busch that has won the past three races, but it was Carl Edwards (175.812 mph) that earned the best speed nod. Matt Kenseth was next at 175.418 mph, followed by Busch (175.408 mph) and Denny Hamlin (175.298 mph). Busch will start first in Sunday’s Windows 10 400 (1:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Live Extra) after winning Friday’s Coors Light Pole Award.
Kurt Busch (175.285 mph) and Ryan Newman (175.104 mph) rounded out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr., the spring Pocono winner, was 11th at 174.547 mph.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. swept the "Tricky Triangle" last year but has not found that same speed this weekend, placing 23rd in Saturday's opening session at 173.718 mph.