RELATED: Final practice results | Practice 2 results
Austin Dillon locked down the fastest lap in final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Dillon guided the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet to a session-topping run of 194.301 mph around the 2-mile track. He will start eighth in Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the 15th of 36 races this year for NASCAR's top division.
Home-state driver Brad Keselowski flew to the second-fastest lap in the 55-minute final tune-up, ringing up a 194.013-mph run in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford. Jimmie Johnson (193.851 mph), Trevor Bayne (193.778 mph) and defending race winner Kurt Busch (193.741 mph) rounded out the top five on the speed charts.
The session marked the final prep for new aerodynamic rules that further reduce the downforce and sideforce effects of the 2016 aero package. Speeds decreased Saturday on the warmest day of the weekend in the Irish Hills region, significantly down from the 201.630 mph lap that rookie Chase Elliott posted in Friday's first practice.
RELATED: Drivers discuss Michigan rules
Elliott had a slight brush with the right-rear fender of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet in the latter moments of the final session. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, scheduled to start 10th in Sunday's 400-miler, was 21st-fastest in final practice.
Coors Light Pole Award winner Joey Logano clinched the ninth spot on the leaderboard with a 193.304 mph lap in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford.
Edwards edges ahead in early Saturday session
Carl Edwards corralled the top spot in Saturday's early NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway.
Edwards wheeled the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota to a best lap of 197.770 mph on the 2-mile track as preparation continues for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). He'll start 11th in the 400-miler after his effort in Friday's Coors Light Pole Qualifying.
Kyle Busch, Edwards' teammate in Gibbs' No. 18 Toyota, established the second-fastest lap in the 55-minute session, securing a lap of 197.737 mph. Pole winner Joey Logano was third-fastest at 197.444 mph in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford.
Rookie Ryan Blaney (197.406 mph) and home-state favorite Brad Keselowski (197.395) completed the top five.
Kurt Busch, last week's winner at Pocono and the defending winner of Michigan's June race, was 19th-fastest in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevy.