Practice report

NASCAR Cup Richmond

Erik Jones ends second Richmond practice on top

Furniture Row Racing continued to exhibit speed in practice at Richmond International Raceway.

Lee Spencer

Lee Spencer

Edited: Apr 29, 2017, 5:46 PM

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Erik Jones, Furniture Row Racing Toyota

Erik Jones, Furniture Row Racing Toyota

Erik Jones, Furniture Row Racing Toyota

Five minutes into the second session, 30 cars had completed early runs with Erik Jones taking the top spot with a lap of 120.714mph. Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano.

After the first 15 minutes of the 55-minute session, 33 drivers had posted times. Jones remained on top, but Martin Truex Jr. jumped up to fifth quick (119.941mph). Austin Dillon, Hamlin, Newman, Earnhardt and Kenseth rounded out the top 10.

NASCAR released Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jamie McMurray and Ryan Blaney after 15-minute holds for failing inspection. The Nos. 1 and 17 failed the Laser Inspection Station. Blaney failed templates twice.

The only change to the top 10 single-lap speeds after the first half-hour was Clint Bowyer bouncing up to ninth. He was the only driver in the second half of practice to break through into the top 10.

For Jones, who was second quick in first practice, the lap was a solid recovery after grazing the wall on Friday.

“I’ve run Richmond a few times in the Xfinity Series and always run well and even came close to getting a win last fall,” Jones said. “The 77 Camry has been fast all year and I know this weekend will be no different. Everyone on the 77 team is ready for the finishes we deserve, we just need a little luck to finish races where we run early on and throughout the day.

“If we can put all the pieces together, we should be able to run up front and contend for a top five again this weekend.”

Landon Cassill’s 66 laps were the most completed during the session.

Jones also led the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category with a speed of 118.876mph followed by Harvick (118.670mph), Menard (118.664mph), Buescher (118.621mph), Hamlin (118.596mph), Austin Dillon (118.584mph), Earnhardt (118.561mph), Kenseth (118.523mph), Newman (118.455mph) and Danica Patrick (118.404mph).

Cla#DriverManufacturerLapsTimeGapIntervalMph 1 77 united_states Erik Jones  Toyota 39 22.367     120.714 2 4 united_states Kevin Harvick  Ford 29 22.491 0.124 0.124 120.048 3 27 united_states Paul Menard  Chevrolet 44 22.499 0.132 0.008 120.005 4 37 united_states Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 40 22.505 0.138 0.006 119.973 5 78 united_states Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 40 22.511 0.144 0.006 119.941 6 3 united_states Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 54 22.551 0.184 0.040 119.729 7 11 united_states Denny Hamlin  Toyota 48 22.559 0.192 0.008 119.686 8 31 united_states Ryan Newman  Chevrolet 50 22.560 0.193 0.001 119.681 9 14 united_states Clint Bowyer  Ford 54 22.600 0.233 0.040 119.469 10 88 united_states Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Chevrolet 57 22.602 0.235 0.002 119.458

CLICK HERE for complete practice results

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