Keselowski tops Cup practice, Larson leads title contenders

Keselowski set the pace early in the 50-minute session at Phoenix Raceway, with a lap at 135.384 mph that stood up the entire session.

Larson was close behind with an average single-lap speed of 135.292 mph. Larson was one of the few drivers to test out the area of the track covered with resin, used to improve grip in the corners.

“I haven’t seen anyone run up there consistently yet,” crew chief Cliff Daniels told Larson late in the session. “I don’t know how you feel right now, but you’re better than the 12 on (new tires).”

Matt DiBenedetto ended up third-fastest (135.109 mph), Christopher Bell was fourth (135.084 mph) and reigning series champion Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five (135.018 mph).

Completing the top-10 were William Byron, Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick.

Martin Truex Jr. was the only Championship 4 driver who did not end up in the top-10. His average lap speed ended up 18th-fastest.

Blaney had the fastest average lap speed among all the drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps (132.596 mph). The rest of the top-five: Larson, Elliott, Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.

Early in the session, the practice was placed under caution when a fire erupted in B.J. McLeod’s car. He quickly exited the car and was unhurt.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	43	26.591			135.384
2	5	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	46	26.609	0.018	0.018	135.293
3	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	34	26.645	0.054	0.036	135.110
4	20	Christopher Bell	Toyota	42	26.650	0.059	0.005	135.084
5	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	50	26.663	0.072	0.013	135.019
6	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	43	26.700	0.109	0.037	134.831
7	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	48	26.822	0.231	0.122	134.218
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	43	26.842	0.251	0.020	134.118
9	48	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	31	26.856	0.265	0.014	134.048
10	8	Tyler Reddick	Chevrolet	35	26.868	0.277	0.012	133.988
11	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	38	26.911	0.320	0.043	133.774
12	42	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	37	26.925	0.334	0.014	133.705
13	23	Bubba Wallace	Toyota	17	26.943	0.352	0.018	133.615
14	22	Joey Logano	Ford	37	26.970	0.379	0.027	133.482
15	43	Erik Jones	Chevrolet	29	26.972	0.381	0.002	133.472
16	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	47	26.973	0.382	0.001	133.467
17	1	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	35	26.976	0.385	0.003	133.452
18	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	32	26.981	0.390	0.005	133.427
19	7	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet	29	27.044	0.453	0.063	133.116
20	41	Cole Custer	Ford	41	27.045	0.454	0.001	133.111
21	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	33	27.095	0.504	0.050	132.866
22	17	Chris Buescher	Ford	31	27.130	0.539	0.035	132.694
23	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Chevrolet	35	27.157	0.566	0.027	132.563
24	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	33	27.177	0.586	0.020	132.465
25	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	32	27.216	0.625	0.039	132.275
26	99	Daniel Suarez	Chevrolet	38	27.217	0.626	0.001	132.270
27	6	Ryan Newman	Ford	42	27.277	0.686	0.060	131.979
28	77	Justin Haley	Chevrolet	23	27.288	0.697	0.011	131.926
29	14	Chase Briscoe	Ford	30	27.334	0.743	0.046	131.704
30	37	Ryan Preece	Chevrolet	27	27.403	0.812	0.069	131.372
31	38	Anthony Alfredo	Ford	41	27.720	1.129	0.317	129.870
32	51	Cody Ware	Chevrolet	21	27.889	1.298	0.169	129.083
33	78	B.J. McLeod	Ford	3	27.893	1.302	0.004	129.065
34	13	David Starr	Ford	29	28.413	1.822	0.520	126.703
35	53	Joey Gase	Chevrolet	14	28.467	1.876	0.054	126.462
36	00	Quin Houff	Chevrolet	25	28.469	1.878	0.002	126.453
37	52	Josh Bilicki	Ford	15	28.571	1.980	0.102	126.002
38	15	Garrett Smithley	Chevrolet	10	28.703	2.112	0.132	125.422
39	66	Timmy Hill	Toyota	10	29.208	2.617	0.505	123.254