Practice report
NASCAR Cup Richmond
Kyle Larson leads Saturday's Cup practice at Richmond
Kyle Larson, who won the first NASCAR Cup race of the season at Richmond (Va.) Raceway last year, appears to be a contender for a repeat.
Jim Utter
Edited: Mar 31, 2024, 1:38 AM
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Larson, who ran in the first 20-minute session, ended up with the fastest average lap speed (121.835 mph) in Saturday’s practice at the ¾-mile short track.
“It’s a tough place for me, so I don’t ever really come here with the highest of expectations, more so just because of me,” said Larson, who drives Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevrolet.
“Talking to my team and stuff – we won the spring race, but we were really bad in the fall race. So, I think we’ve come here with a much different approach for car set-up.”
Joey Logano (121.490 mph) and Chris Buescher (121.462 mph) – also both from the first group – joined Larson in the top three overall speeds.
Michael McDowell ended up fastest (119.553 mph) in the second group.
Among those drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney had the fastest average lap speed (119.867 mph), followed by Alex Bowman and Logano.
Group B
McDowell paced the second 20-minute session with an average lap speed of 119.553 mph but speeds in general were much slower than the first group.
Brad Keselowski was second fastest (118.963 mph) while Erik Jones (118.702 mph) was third.
Last weekend’s race winner, William Byron, was fourth and Christopher Bell completed the top five.
Group A
Larson, who won this race a year ago, led the way in the first session with an average lap speed of 121.835 mph that he set in his first laps on the track.
Logano was second quick (121.490 mph) while Buescher was third (121.462 mph).
John Hunter Nemechek and Bowman rounded out the top five.
CLA DRIVER # MANUFACTURER LAPS TIME INTERVAL MPH 1 K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 5 Chevrolet 45
22.161
121.836 2 J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE 22 Ford 49
+0.063
22.224
0.063 121.490 3 C. BuescherRFK RACING 17 Ford 47
+0.068
22.229
0.005 121.463 4 J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB 42 Toyota 47
+0.079
22.240
0.011 121.403 5 A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 48 Chevrolet 42
+0.088
22.249
0.009 121.354 6
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
54 Toyota 46
+0.102
22.263
0.014 121.277 7 R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE 12 Ford 49
+0.115
22.276
0.013 121.207 8 J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING 4 Ford 40
+0.181
22.342
0.066 120.849 9 R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING 47 Chevrolet 43
+0.240
22.401
0.059 120.530 10 J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING 51 Ford 46
+0.261
22.422
0.021 120.417 11 H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING 21 Ford 37
+0.283
22.444
0.022 120.299 12 A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING 3 Chevrolet 40
+0.358
22.519
0.075 119.899 13 R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING 41 Ford 38
+0.418
22.579
0.060 119.580 14 M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS 34 Ford 48
+0.423
22.584
0.005 119.554 15 D. HemricKAULIG RACING 31 Chevrolet 33
+0.495
22.656
0.072 119.174 16 B. KeselowskiRFK RACING 6 Ford 47
+0.535
22.696
0.040 118.964 17
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
71 Chevrolet 36
+0.549
22.710
0.014 118.890 18 E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB 43 Toyota 39
+0.585
22.746
0.036 118.702 19 W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 24 Chevrolet 43
+0.595
22.756
0.010 118.650 20 C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING 20 Toyota 49
+0.618
22.779
0.023 118.530 21 M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING 19 Toyota 47
+0.624
22.785
0.006 118.499 22 B. Wallace23XI RACING 23 Toyota 47
+0.625
22.786
0.001 118.494 23 D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING 11 Toyota 48
+0.663
22.824
0.038 118.297 24 D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING 99 Chevrolet 36
+0.668
22.829
0.005 118.271 25 C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING 14 Ford 41
+0.685
22.846
0.017 118.183 26 A. CindricTEAM PENSKE 2 Ford 44
+0.699
22.860
0.014 118.110 27 N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING 10 Ford 44
+0.700
22.861
0.001 118.105 28 T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS 38 Ford 48
+0.709
22.870
0.009 118.059 29 C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS 9 Chevrolet 42
+0.722
22.883
0.013 117.992 30
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
77 Chevrolet 36
+0.729
22.890
0.007 117.955 31 T. Reddick23XI RACING 45 Toyota 46
+0.734
22.895
0.005 117.930 32 K. GralaRICK WARE RACING 15 Ford 46
+0.741
22.902
0.007 117.894 33 C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS 7 Chevrolet 46
+0.746
22.907
0.005 117.868 34 K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING 8 Chevrolet 47
+0.774
22.935
0.028 117.724 35 T. DillonKAULIG RACING 16 Chevrolet 31
+0.782
22.943
0.008 117.683 36 R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING 1 Chevrolet 40
+0.986
23.147
0.204 116.646
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