Final practice recap | Final practice speeds | See the full starting lineup
For the second time on Friday, Carl Edwards ‘ No. 19 Toyota soared to the top of the leaderboard with a fast lap of 187.448 mph in the final practice at Kentucky Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also paced the field in the previous practice and will roll off the grid fifth in Saturday’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Martin Truex Jr. ranked second on the speed charts, his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota clocking in at 186.528 mph. Kyle Larson wheeled his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet at 186.387 mph to earn the third spot on the leaderboard, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. piloted his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet fourth-fastest at 186.091 mph.
Reigning race winner Kyle Busch rounded out the top five in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, notching a fast lap of 185.989 mph.
Denny Hamlin , who topped Friday’s opening session, experienced a rough start to the final session when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota brushed the wall coming out of Turns 3 and 4. Kurt Busch’s No. 41 Chevrolet spun and made contact with the wall toward the end of practice, bringing out the caution flag and forcing Busch to a backup — and to the rear — for Saturday’s 400-miler.
The Sprint Cup Series is back on track Saturday for the Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM Radio).
Practice 3 recap | Practice 3 results
Carl Edwards led Friday’s second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice after rain shortened the earlier scheduled run. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver set the pace for the field with a speed of 188.633 mph. The second session ran for approximately 40 minutes and followed a heavy downpour.
Martin Truex Jr. was second-fastest to Edwards at 187.774 mph in his No. 78 Toyota. Kyle Larson was third-fastest (187.487 mph) in the second session after coming in as fifth-fastest in Friday’s opening run.
Kyle Busch, who was fourth on the speed chart (187.123 mph), had a close call after getting loose coming around a turn and nearly hit the wall, but the defending Sprint Cup Series champion saved his No. 18 Toyota from any damage.
Austin Dillon was fifth on the leaderboard at 187.097 mph.
Jimmie Johnson , who went to a backup No. 48 Chevrolet after damaging his first car in Friday’s opening practice, finished eighth in the day’s second session driving his alternate car (186.561 mph). Johnson was second-fastest in Friday’s first practice.
Practice 2 recap | Practice 2 results
Propelled by a fast lap of 188.285 mph in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Denny Hamlin topped Friday’s first of two scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practices at Kentucky Speedway in a session that was cut short due to inclement weather.
The session was scheduled from 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m. ET, but cars were called to the garage just before 11:30 a.m. ET with severe thunderstorms in the area. Twenty minutes later it began to rain.
MORE: Stay updated on the weather
Next on the leaderboard was Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson , who posted the early fast speed of 188.121 mph before being overtaken by Hamlin. Johnson also hit the wall solidly during a later run, which led to crew chief Chad Knaus urging the crew to bring out the backup car.
“I just got wide,” Johnson said of the wreck. “I didn’t have anything go wrong, I just got wide and the car just started going straight and it wouldn’t turn. I was in the marbles. I couldn’t see the line where the track was clean and dirty and it just kept going straight and straight and straight and hit the wall.”
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick was third on the speed charts with a fast lap of 188.088 mph in his No. 4 Chevrolet. Ty Dillon was fourth with a speed of 188.042 mph in the No. 95 Chevrolet while Kyle Larson rounded out the top five with a top speed of 187.963 mph in his No. 42 Chevrolet.
One day after Toyotas posted the four fastest speeds in opening practice, Chevrolets held seven of the top eight fastest times Friday. Carl Edwards , who led Thursday’s session, was ninth Friday (187.461 mph) in the No. 19 Toyota. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. posted the 10th-fastest time (187.007 mph) and was the top Ford on the board.