Johnson leads Cup practice, Logano wrecks; Menard paces NNS contingent; rain hits Iowa
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SPRINT CUP SERIES PRACTICE | GET RESULTS
A late, fast lap from Jimmie Johnson allowed the six-time champion to supplant Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon atop the leaderboard at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a practice session that was delayed nearly 10 minutes after Joey Logano crushed his No. 22 Team Penske Ford into the outside wall.
Johnson’s speed of 135.313 mph (28.148 seconds) came on his 20th of 22 laps. He has three career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at the 1.058-mile track.
Logano was 12th on the leaderboard when he wrecked, and he finished the session 11th. His backup car was waiting for him in the garage after he was treated and released from the infield care center.
"We had a left rear tire go down there," the driver said. "The same exact thing happened in this race last year. I wasn’t even close to saving that. I needed about 500 more yards of straightaway to save that one. Unfortunately we will have to get the second AutoTrader.com Fusion out here and try to get it tuned up for the race. It is a bummer."
Kyle Larson’s late run in qualifying trim put the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender up to second on the speed chart at 135.212 mph, just 0.021 seconds behind Johnson.
Gordon hung on for third place at 135.164 mph in his No. 24 Chevrolet, with Jamie McMurray (135.131 mph) and Kevin Harvick (135.131 mph) rounding out the top five at the exact same speed. All cars in the top five have Hendrick horsepower.
Two-time track winner Clint Bowyer (134.939 mph) was sixth, with former series champion Brad Keselowski logging the seventh-fastest time on the speed chart at 134.782 mph.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series is scheduled for 4:40 p.m. ET later today.
NATIONWIDE SERIES FINAL PRACTICE | GET RESULTS
Paul Menard led an 85-minute final NASCAR Nationwide Series practice session Friday, leading three other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars who finished in the top five in both of Friday’s practices.
Menard’s speed of 130.595 mph was the fastest of the day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He was the only driver to break the 130 mph-barrier in the final session.
Menard, who has one series victory this year, led second-place Kyle Busch (129.851 mph) by 0.167 seconds. Brad Keselowski (129.476 mph) and Kyle Larson (129.173 mph) were third and fourth, respectively. Busch, Keselowski and Larson all finished in the top five of Friday’s opening practice.
Trevor Bayne, sixth in the points standings, rounded out the top five with a speed of 129.121 mph in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.
Rookies Dylan Kwasniewski (129.103 mph), Chris Buescher (128.981 mph) and Ty Dillon (128.885 mph) finished sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying takes place Saturday at 10:10 a.m. ET, with the Sta-Green 200 following at 3:30 p.m. ET.
NATIONWIDE SERIES PRACTICE | GET RESULTS
Brian Scott‘s strength on shorter tracks was again on display Friday in a 50-minute opening NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The series hits the track again from 3-4:25 p.m. ET for final practice.
Scott led the field with a best speed of 130.042 mph in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Scott has won two career poles at Richmond (a 0.75-mile track) and led 239 laps in a race last year. Earlier this year, he finished sixth at 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway.
Four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars followed suit, with Kyle Larson (129.243 mph) taking second, just as he did in the day’s first Sprint Cup practice. Kyle Busch (129.029 mph), Brad Keselowski (128.758 mph) and Matt Kenseth (128.745 mph) rounded out the top five.
Series points leader Regan Smith was sixth on the board with a speed of 128.273 mph. Elliott Sadler (127.984 mph) was ninth with rookie Chase Elliott (127.684 mph) 10th.
CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES FINAL PRACTICE (CANCELED)
NEWTON, Iowa — Rain and the threat of severe storms have put a damper on NASCAR Camping World Truck Series activity Friday at Iowa Speedway.
The series completed a 75-minute opening practice Friday morning ahead of the American Ethanol 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1), but teams scurried to set up tents in the auxiliary garage area as the skies grew darker. A spitting rain began falling a half-hour later, and final practice that was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET was canceled.
Keystone Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 5:40 p.m. ET on the 0.875-mile asphalt track. If rain were to wash away the two-round, multi-truck session, the starting lineup would be set according to a combination of the speeds posted in the first and final practice.
Darrell Wallace Jr., driving the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Toyota, was fastest in the opening practice at 137.261 mph.
— Zack Albert
CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES PRACTICE | RESULTS
Late mock qualifying runs jumbled the leaderboard Friday morning at Iowa Speedway, where teams kept an eye on potential dicey weather coming in during the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice session.
At the end, it was Darrell Wallace Jr. — who had the second-fastest practice speed before mock runs began — atop the leaderboard. His session-best speed of 137.261 mph came on his 26th and final lap in the No. 54 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.
Wallace was the only driver to top 137 mph. Defending series champion Matt Crafton was second on the board with a speed of 136.553 mph in his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota.
Timothy Peters (136.452 mph) was third, followed by 18-year-old Erik Jones (136.381 mph) and 16-year-old Cole Custer (136.275 mph). Custer is in the No. 00 truck of Haas Racing Development. He has three series starts this season.
Ryan Blaney was tops on the leaderboard early in the session, but he slipped to 12th as others changed their setups. His top speed of 135.665 mph came on his third lap.
Series points leader Johnny Sauter checked in at 22nd place.
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