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Erik Jones fastest in final NASCAR Cup practice before Coke 600

Erik Jones led the way in the final practice before Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K

Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K

Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Images

Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K
Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K
Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K
Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K
Erik Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Circle K

Jones’ No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota topped the speed chart with an average lap speed of 187.045 mph in the 50-minute session on Saturday.

Saturday morning’s first practice was rained out.

Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet was second (186.664 mph) while Ryan Blaney’s Ford was third (186.104 mph). Joey Logano was fourth and Jones’ JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, completed the top-five.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray.

Logano ran the most laps (55) during the session.

As the session ended, NASCAR officials asked to notify Hamlin’s spotter to tell his driver to slow down as he entered and traveled through the garage area.

About 18 minutes into the session, Parker Kligerman spun off Turn 2 with a big plume of smoke but didn’t hit anything and the track remained green.

The teams of Kevin Harvick and J.J. Yeley both had to sit out the final 30 minutes of the 50-minute session because of NASCAR penalties. Yeley’s team was late to qualifying inspection on Friday and failed inspection twice.

Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford failed qualifying inspection three times on Friday. His car chief, Robert Smith, was also ejected for the weekend. He ended up 17-fastest with only 20 minutes on the track Saturday.

The teams of Aric Almirola, Kahne and Kligerman all had to sit out the final 15 minutes of practice for failing inspection twice on Friday.

Jones also had the fastest average lap speed of those drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps 9184.579 mph). Larson was second and Hamlin third in that category.

Cla#DriverManufacturerLapsTimeGapIntervalMph
1 20 united_states Erik Jones  Toyota 50 28.870     187.045
2 42 united_states Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 43 28.929 0.059 0.059 186.664
3 12 united_states Ryan Blaney  Ford 35 29.016 0.146 0.087 186.104
4 22 united_states Joey Logano  Ford 55 29.025 0.155 0.009 186.047
5 11 united_states Denny Hamlin  Toyota 49 29.042 0.172 0.017 185.938
6 14 united_states Clint Bowyer  Ford 45 29.081 0.211 0.039 185.688
7 41 united_states Kurt Busch  Ford 45 29.085 0.215 0.004 185.663
8 21 united_states Paul Menard  Ford 35 29.117 0.247 0.032 185.459
9 95 united_states Kasey Kahne  Chevrolet 26 29.167 0.297 0.050 185.141
10 1 united_states Jamie McMurray  Chevrolet 40 29.178 0.308 0.011 185.071
11 48 united_states Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 46 29.185 0.315 0.007 185.027
12 9 united_states Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 43 29.188 0.318 0.003 185.008
13 24 united_states William Byron  Chevrolet 49 29.205 0.335 0.017 184.900
14 78 united_states Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 42 29.211 0.341 0.006 184.862
15 31 united_states Ryan Newman  Chevrolet 30 29.219 0.349 0.008 184.811
16 10 united_states Aric Almirola  Ford 33 29.219 0.349 0.000 184.811
17 4 united_states Kevin Harvick  Ford 21 29.228 0.358 0.009 184.754
18 18 united_states Kyle Busch  Toyota 39 29.238 0.368 0.010 184.691
19 43 united_states Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 37 29.272 0.402 0.034 184.477
20 3 united_states Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 51 29.281 0.411 0.009 184.420
21 19 mexico Daniel Suarez  Toyota 43 29.282 0.412 0.001 184.414
22 2 united_states Brad Keselowski  Ford 43 29.293 0.423 0.011 184.344
23 17 united_states Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 30 29.294 0.424 0.001 184.338
24 88 united_states Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 41 29.366 0.496 0.072 183.886
25 13 united_states Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 32 29.425 0.555 0.059 183.517
26 47 united_states A.J. Allmendinger  Chevrolet 32 29.426 0.556 0.001 183.511
27 32 united_states Matt DiBenedetto  Ford 24 29.457 0.587 0.031 183.318
28 37 united_states Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 33 29.460 0.590 0.003 183.299
29 38 united_states David Ragan  Ford 30 29.546 0.676 0.086 182.766
30 6 united_states Matt Kenseth  Ford 20 29.596 0.726 0.050 182.457
31 34 united_states Michael McDowell  Ford 34 29.662 0.792 0.066 182.051
32 15 united_states Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 22 29.740 0.870 0.078 181.574
33 96 united_states Parker Kligerman  Toyota 16 29.846 0.976 0.106 180.929
34 72 united_states Corey Lajoie  Chevrolet 22 30.008 1.138 0.162 179.952
35 00 united_states Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 21 30.039 1.169 0.031 179.766
36 23 united_states Gray Gaulding  Toyota 21 30.055 1.185 0.016 179.671
37 51 united_states B.J. McLeod  Chevrolet 4 30.271 1.401 0.216 178.389
38 7 united_states J.J. Yeley  Chevrolet 8 30.352 1.482 0.081 177.912
39 55 united_states Jeffrey Earnhardt  Chevrolet 17 30.528 1.658 0.176 176.887
40 66 united_states Timmy Hill  Toyota 4 30.661 1.791 0.133 176.120

 

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