RELATED: Practice 1 results
Rookie Chase Elliott rolled to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard Friday, making the most of a new aerodynamics package that debuts this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate turned a fast lap of 201.630 mph in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet on the 2-mile track. The lap was slower than the track record lap of 206.558 mph set by Jeff Gordon with the No. 24 team in August 2014.
Coca-Cola 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. was second-fastest, pushing the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota to a lap of 201.314 mph. Carl Edwards (201.218 mph), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (201.213) and Kevin Harvick (200.904) — all former Michigan winners — were third through fifth on the speed chart ahead of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).
The 85-minute session marked the debut of an aero rules package designed to further reduce downforce and sideforce in hopes of promoting more passing. The most visual change was a significantly smaller rear spoiler, chopped from 3.5 inches to 2.5 inches tall and trimmed from 61 to 53 inches in width.
The smaller spoiler on the rear decklid allowed the cars to push through the air with less resistance, pushing corner entry speeds at the end of Michigan’s long straightaways into the fast neighborhood of 210 to 215 mph. But with fewer aerodynamic aids to stabilize the cars in the sweeping turns, mid-corner speeds dropped significantly as drivers wrestled for grip.
The changes were designed to promote side-by-side racing, but the 40 drivers largely concentrated on single-car runs ahead of Coors Light Pole Qualifying, scheduled later Friday at 4:15 p.m. ET (FS1).
Kurt Busch, the defending race winner and a winner last weekend at Pocono Raceway, clocked the 10th-fastest lap in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet.