Kyle Busch tops final Cup practice at Pocono

Busch posted a speed of 176.824mph (50.898-seconds) making a qualifying run as the final practice session closed out.

Kyle Larson was second quick followed by Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Kevin Harvick.

Busch is still searching for his first win of 2017 — and his first win at Pocono Raceway, one of two tracks on the Cup tour where he has yet to pick up a points win.

Jamie McMurray (173.447mph) led the 55-minute session in the opening stages before Hamlin (175.415mph) topped the No. 1 Chevy after his first lap — eight minutes in. Busch moved up to second with a lap of 175.370mph.

After the first 10 minutes, Hamlin remained fastest followed by Busch, McMurray, Blaney and Johnson.

Chase Elliott climbed up to third after six laps before the 15-minute mark. McMurray dropped to fourth with Blaney, Johnson, Kenseth, Bowyer, Jones and Kahne rounding out the top 10. Kevin Harvick posted the 11th-fastest single lap speed with Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completing the top 15.

Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, who received 15-minute practice holds for their teams failing pre-race inspection twice at Indy, were released for practice. 

Kyle Busch Busch closed in on Hamlin with a lap of 175.370mph for second on the speed chart over the next five minutes. Elliott (173.705mph) held onto third followed by McMurray and Blaney.

Just past halfway, McMurray bumped Hamlin with a lap of 175.558mph in qualifying trim.

“It feels like there’s no wedge in the car,” Hamlin told his crew. “No stability. I’m loose everywhere and it’s getting tighter and tighter and tighter out of Turn 3.”

Martin Truex Jr. served his 30-minute practice hold for the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing failing pre-race inspection three times at the Brickyard.

Kyle Busch remained second followed by Truex, Elliott, Johnson, Blaney, Larson, Kenseth and Bowyer.

With 10 minutes to go in Happy Hour, McMurray held on to the top spot. Six minutes later, his Ganassi Racing teammate Larson knocked him off with a lap of 175.908mph. Hamlin held on to third. In the final moment, Kyle Busch vaulted to the top of the chart.

“I think we have an okay car in qualifying," Larson said. "Race trim, I think we are off quite a bit, especially on lap time. Then the overall feel of the car is not very good either. I’m fighting pretty much everything out there throughout the lap. Just really hard to drive, really inconsistent. It’s really easy to make a mistake.  Not a lot of fun to drive, but hopefully, we can get it better and get some more grip in our car.  Just kind of off all day, of the last couple of weeks.  So, if we can just keep fighting hard and find that balance we need we should be fast.” 

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	20	50.898			176.824
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	19	51.163	0.265	0.265	175.908
3	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	15	51.239	0.341	0.076	175.647
4	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	18	51.307	0.409	0.068	175.415
5	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	19	51.352	0.454	0.045	175.261
6	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	15	51.405	0.507	0.053	175.080
7	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	9	51.422	0.524	0.017	175.022
8	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	23	51.576	0.678	0.154	174.500
9	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	20	51.586	0.688	0.010	174.466
10	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	20	51.622	0.724	0.036	174.344
11	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	14	51.725	0.827	0.103	173.997
12	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	23	51.735	0.837	0.010	173.963
13	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	17	51.744	0.846	0.009	173.933
14	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	17	51.863	0.965	0.119	173.534
15	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	12	51.914	1.016	0.051	173.364
16	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	15	51.915	1.017	0.001	173.360
17	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	19	51.919	1.021	0.004	173.347
18	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	22	51.924	1.026	0.005	173.330
19	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	10	51.929	1.031	0.005	173.314
20	22	Joey Logano	Ford	21	51.930	1.032	0.001	173.310
21	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	15	52.017	1.119	0.087	173.020
22	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	11	52.020	1.122	0.003	173.010
23	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	14	52.098	1.200	0.078	172.751
24	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	20	52.103	1.205	0.005	172.735
25	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	14	52.166	1.268	0.063	172.526
26	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	10	52.287	1.389	0.121	172.127
27	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	16	52.469	1.571	0.182	171.530
28	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	15	52.528	1.630	0.059	171.337
29	38	David Ragan	Ford	15	52.579	1.681	0.051	171.171
30	23	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	11	52.701	1.803	0.122	170.775
31	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	15	52.969	2.071	0.268	169.911
32	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	23	52.974	2.076	0.005	169.895
33	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	15	53.060	2.162	0.086	169.619
34	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	10	53.590	2.692	0.530	167.942
35	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	16	53.732	2.834	0.142	167.498
36	15	Gray Gaulding	Chevrolet	6	54.026	3.128	0.294	166.586
37	55	Derrike Cope	Toyota	4	55.033	4.135	1.007	163.538
38	83	Stephen Leicht	Toyota	10	55.201	4.303	0.168	163.041