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Hamlin sets fastest time in Happy Hour before spinning

Denny Hamlin set the pace for Happy Hour on his third circuit around Michigan International Speedway.

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Action Sports Photography

Hamlin’s lap of 197.878mph (36.386-sec.) held up for the remainder of final practice which was called due to lightning in the area.

Hamlin’s prosperity did not last. At the 15-minute mark, Hamlin lost control of his car attempting to complete his eighth lap and spun into the grass coming off of Turn 4.

“I got loose,” Hamlin said. “That was definitely out of the blue, for sure. With the tire and track combination, you’re so on the edge when you break traction, you really fully break traction. We were going to patch it — just put a splitter on it — but looking around it’s got a little bit of structural damage to the bumper bars, so I think we’re going to call it a practice.

“We have a really good baseline set up, obviously, from the first race. I thought we were a top-three car. We’ll go to work, make sure it’s right before we take the green flag tomorrow.”

NASCAR red-flagged the track momentarily after Hamlin collected himself and returned to the garage. The track re-opened just after 19 minutes into the 50-minute session. Three minutes later, NASCAR called caution again for lightning in the area.

Rookie Chase Elliott, who finished second here in June, was second with a speed of 197.786mph (36.403-sec.). Jimmie Johnson (197.694mph), Kasey Kahne (197.455mph), Brad Keselowski (197.412mph), Kurt Busch (197.336mph), polesitter Joey Logano (197.271mph), Kyle Larson (197.195mph), Carl Edwards (197.034mph) and Alex Bowman (196.969mph) rounded out the top 10 in single lap runs.

Larson’s 22 laps were the most completed during the abbreviated session.

Cla#DriverManufacturerLapsTimeGapIntervalMph
1 11  Denny Hamlin  Toyota 7 36.386     197.878
2 24  Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 15 36.403 0.017 0.017 197.786
3 48  Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 15 36.420 0.034 0.017 197.694
4 5  Kasey Kahne  Chevrolet 16 36.464 0.078 0.044 197.455
5 2  Brad Keselowski  Ford 10 36.472 0.086 0.008 197.412
6 41  Kurt Busch  Chevrolet 16 36.486 0.100 0.014 197.336
7 22  Joey Logano  Ford 13 36.498 0.112 0.012 197.271
8 42  Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 22 36.512 0.126 0.014 197.195
9 19  Carl Edwards  Toyota 10 36.542 0.156 0.030 197.034
10 88  Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 18 36.554 0.168 0.012 196.969

CLICK HERE for complete practice results

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