Official Site Of NASCAR

Almirola, Logano set pace in Saturday practice sessions at Dover

Staff Report

Robert Laberge | Getty Images

Aric Almirola topped the board in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday at Dover International Speedway. Almirola powered the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford to a best lap of 158.277 mph around the 1-mile Delaware track. He'll start 13th in Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM). RELATED: Final practice results | Full schedule for Dover Chase Elliott logged the second-fastest lap in the 50-minute session, registering 158.054 mph in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet. Clint Bowyer, Almirola's SHR teammate, was third-fastest with pole-starter Kyle Larson fourth and another Stewart-Haas driver, Kevin Harvick, in fifth. Jimmie Johnson, the defending race winner and 11 times a victor at the Monster Mile, was seventh-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet. Two teams served 15-minute penalties in final practice for failing pre-qualifying inspection twice: MORE: Best consecutive 10-lap averages Penske drivers go 1-2 in Saturday's early practice Joey Logano rose to the top of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series speed chart, leading a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske in Saturday's early practice at Dover International Speedway. Logano clocked a lap of 157.494 mph in the No. 22 Ford. He'll start 18th in Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM), the 11th of 36 points-paying races this season for NASCAR's top division. RELATED: Practice 2 results Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski secured the second-fastest lap at 157.453 mph in the No. 2 Ford. His best lap was just .006 seconds off Logano's pace-setting time. Defending series champion Martin Truex Jr. was third-fastest in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota with Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola completing the top five on the 1-mile track. Kyle Larson, who won the No. 1 starting spot in Friday's Busch Pole Qualifying, was seventh-fastest in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson, an 11-time Dover winner, was 13th-fastest in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevy. Competition officials assessed 15-minute practice deductions to five teams for being late to pre-qualifying inspection: