Jimmie Johnson fastest in final Cup practice at Texas
Jimmie Johnson, looking to end the longest winless streak of his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, was fastest in Saturday’s abbreviated final practice session at Texas Motor Speedway.
Photo by: Russell LaBounty / NKP / Motorsport Images
Texas is a good place for Johnson to get back in Victory Lane – he owns seven wins at the track including in this race one year ago.
Johnson is trying to snap a 29-race winless streak. His most victory came at Dover, Del., last June.
Heavy mist and cold temperatures (in the mid-30s) made the track difficult to dry and drivers only got about 20 minutes in the final session.
Johnson made three laps and immediately after posting his best average lap speed of 198.143 mph, crew chief Chad Knaus called him back to the garage.
“We’re done,” Knaus said over the No. 48 team’s radio, “Let’s get ready to race.”
Kevin Harvick, who won last fall’s Texas race ended up second fastest (197.984 mph) while Daniel Suarez – who was fastest in Saturday’s first session – was third-fastest (197.780 mph).
Pole-winner Kurt Busch was fourth-fastest and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top five.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who wrecked his primary car in the first practice session, was able to get on track with his backup car to make six laps. He ended up with the 26th-fastest speed.
“Good thing getting this thing back (on track), that was huge,” Stenhouse said over his team radio. “We’ll be good for tomorrow.”
Cla | # | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 3 | 27.253 | 198.143 | ||
2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 14 | 27.275 | 0.022 | 0.022 | 197.984 |
3 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 19 | 27.303 | 0.050 | 0.028 | 197.780 |
4 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 22 | 27.306 | 0.053 | 0.003 | 197.759 |
5 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 11 | 27.326 | 0.073 | 0.020 | 197.614 |
6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 30 | 27.329 | 0.076 | 0.003 | 197.592 |
7 | 20 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 10 | 27.332 | 0.079 | 0.003 | 197.571 |
8 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 3 | 27.335 | 0.082 | 0.003 | 197.549 |
9 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 15 | 27.338 | 0.085 | 0.003 | 197.527 |
10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 28 | 27.430 | 0.177 | 0.092 | 196.865 |
11 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 20 | 27.442 | 0.189 | 0.012 | 196.779 |
12 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 21 | 27.453 | 0.200 | 0.011 | 196.700 |
13 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 11 | 27.468 | 0.215 | 0.015 | 196.592 |
14 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 17 | 27.513 | 0.260 | 0.045 | 196.271 |
15 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 13 | 27.519 | 0.266 | 0.006 | 196.228 |
16 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 10 | 27.520 | 0.267 | 0.001 | 196.221 |
17 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 10 | 27.525 | 0.272 | 0.005 | 196.185 |
18 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 20 | 27.540 | 0.287 | 0.015 | 196.078 |
19 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 18 | 27.545 | 0.292 | 0.005 | 196.043 |
20 | 95 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 21 | 27.588 | 0.335 | 0.043 | 195.737 |
21 | 21 | Paul Menard | Ford | 19 | 27.603 | 0.350 | 0.015 | 195.631 |
22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 11 | 27.635 | 0.382 | 0.032 | 195.404 |
23 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 9 | 27.656 | 0.403 | 0.021 | 195.256 |
24 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 24 | 27.658 | 0.405 | 0.002 | 195.242 |
25 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 22 | 27.692 | 0.439 | 0.034 | 195.002 |
26 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 6 | 27.697 | 0.444 | 0.005 | 194.967 |
27 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 13 | 27.709 | 0.456 | 0.012 | 194.883 |
28 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 13 | 27.742 | 0.489 | 0.033 | 194.651 |
29 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 12 | 27.981 | 0.728 | 0.239 | 192.988 |
30 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 1 | 28.026 | 0.773 | 0.045 | 192.678 |
31 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | Toyota | 13 | 28.503 | 1.250 | 0.477 | 189.454 |
32 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Chevrolet | 6 | 28.539 | 1.286 | 0.036 | 189.215 |
33 | 51 | Harrison Rhodes | Chevrolet | 8 | 28.706 | 1.453 | 0.167 | 188.114 |
34 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 11 | 28.785 | 1.532 | 0.079 | 187.598 |
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