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Martin Truex Jr. shuffled to the top of the leaderboard in Saturday’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, a 55-minute session marked by an early crash by Kyle Busch.
Truex drove the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Chevrolet to a best lap of 191.729 mph on the 2-mile track. In Friday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying, he managed to secure just the 22nd starting spot for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).
Joey Logano claimed the second-fastest spot on the leaderboard at 191.215 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford. Carl Edwards backed up his third starting spot with the third-fastest lap in final practice, clocking 191.189 mph on the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota.
Kyle Larson was fourth-fastest with fellow Chevrolet driver Austin Dillon completing the top five. Dillon, who made a strong showing Friday by qualifying fourth, lost power on his Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet with six minutes left in final practice.
Busch, tied for the series lead with four victories this season, lost control of his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota off Turn 4 just five minutes into final practice. The car slid sideways toward the infield, digging its nose into the grass and causing significant damage as it skidded to a halt.
“You’re leaking. Shut it down,” crew chief Adam Stevens told Busch, who was evaluated and released at the infield care center. The JGR team unloaded the backup No. 18 car, which made two runs toward the end of practice.
“I was just running along, everything was fine and I was actually feeling pretty good about it,” Busch said. “Just started to get a little free up off of (turn) four. It started stepping out like it did here in the spring. I over-corrected and hit the wall so this time around I just kind of made it keep rotating and head down towards the infield. I think we need more grass at these race tracks, I think the apron should be full of grass.”
Those comments echoed the sarcastic remarks he gave to NBC Sports Network: “I think we should have more grass and it should be taller.”
Matt Kenseth , winner of the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday qualifying, was 16th-fastest in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota. Kurt Busch, the most recent Michigan winner in June’s rain-shortened Quicken Loans 400 , was 15th-fastest in Stewart-Haas Racing‘s No. 41 Chevrolet. Jeff Gordon , the defending race winner, was 21st-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet in preparation for his final Michigan race as a full-time Sprint Cup competitor.
Harvick tops Saturday’s early practice
Kevin Harvick was up and at ’em early Saturday morning, leading the day’s early-morning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway. His speed of 194.784 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet was enough to top the speed charts, including pole-starter Matt Kenseth.
Kenseth, the Coors Light Pole winner for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), was the top Toyota on the board Saturday, coming in second at 194.411 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20.
Kyle Larson (194.013 mph), Kyle Busch (193.976 mph) and Jimmie Johnson (193.934 mph) rounded out the top five at the 2-mile track.
In an effort to further test the high-drag rules package and simulate race conditions, teams communicated via radio about working together for a few laps of pack racing — and at 9:10 a.m. ET, with 15 minutes remaining, a large contingent of cars left pit road together.
Kurt Busch, the series’ most recent Michigan winner in June, was 14th-fastest. Jeff Gordon, the defending race winner prepping for what’s expected to be his final Michigan start, was 17th-fastest.
Saturday’s final practice is slated for 11:30 a.m. ET, with TV coverage on CNBC and live online streaming via Live Extra.