Ryan Blaney tops final NASCAR Cup practice at Bristol

The driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford shot to the top of the speed chart in the closing minutes of final practice after completing 46 laps.

Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Trevor Bayne, Erik Jones, AJ Allmendinger and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10 single-lap speeds. Aric Almirola’s 87 laps were the most completed during the 85-minute session on Friday.

Blaney jumped to the top of the speed chart in the opening minutes of second practice with a lap of 125.782mph. Kyle Busch bumped Blaney three minutes in with a lap of 126.104mph on his 10th laps. Kenseth ran third followed by Harvick, Stenhouse, Hamlin, Larson, Newman and Bayne.

Kenseth moved up to the top spot 10 laps in despite being uncomfortable with the surface.

“I almost crashed right there,” Kenseth said after the first three laps. “I don’t know if it’s my car or the track.”

Timmy Hill lost control of his car coming out of Turn 4 and slid sideway down the front stretch — just before NASCAR called a caution for rain. Kenseth remained atop the leader board followed by Kyle Busch, Blaney, Harvick Stenhouse, Hamlin, Larson, Keselowski, Suarez and Newman rounded out the top 10.

After 15 minutes, Chase Elliott jumped to third on his seventh lap (125..823mph). Jamie McMurray followed in fourth. Blaney, Harvick, Stenhouse. Hamlin, Larson and Keselowski rounded out the top 10.

NASCAR released the following drivers serving 15-minute practice holds for multiple pre-race inspection failures at Michigan: Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr.

Kyle Busch regained the top speed with a lap of 126.353mph. Thirty minutes in, Busch was P1 followed by Kesneth, Johnson (125.831mph), Elliott, McMurray, Blaney, Harvick, Stenhouse, Hamlin and Larson.

Three minutes later, Hamlin advanced to third on his 55th lap. Blaney (127.963mph) took the top spot with 45 minutes remaining on the clock. Truex climbed to second-quick (126.537mph). Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Hamlin, Johnson, Elliott, McMurray, Harvick and Stenhouse rounded out the top 10.

Reports of mist on the track came with 40 minutes to go. Austin Dillon entered the fifth-fastest speed — 125.963mph. His Richard Childress Racing teammate Ryan Newman (126.378mph) was fourth on his flyer run. McMurray moved to second (127.963mph) followed by Larson (127.182mph). Bowyer and Truex rounded out the top five with 35 minutes to go.

Just before the 50-minute mark, Newman rose to second (127.784mph). Jones was 11th followed by Johnson, Elliott, Chris Buescher, Stenhouse, Harvick, Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Trevor Bayne.

Larson (128.065mph) vaulted to P1 just before the one-hour mark. Blaney dropped to second followed by Newman, McMurray, Bowyer, Truex, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kenseth and Austin Dillon.

After a brief weather delay, practice resumed with Larson still on top of the speed chart. In the final 10 minutes, Blaney bounced up to second — then posted the fastest lap on his final run.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	46	14.926			128.554
2	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	67	14.983	0.057	0.057	128.065
3	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	43	15.016	0.090	0.033	127.784
4	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	47	15.051	0.125	0.035	127.487
5	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	59	15.078	0.152	0.027	127.258
6	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	58	15.097	0.171	0.019	127.098
7	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	53	15.144	0.218	0.047	126.704
8	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	32	15.153	0.227	0.009	126.628
9	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	42	15.161	0.235	0.008	126.562
10	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	44	15.162	0.236	0.001	126.553
11	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	23	15.164	0.238	0.002	126.537
12	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	63	15.179	0.253	0.015	126.411
13	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	72	15.192	0.266	0.013	126.303
14	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	63	15.193	0.267	0.001	126.295
15	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	66	15.199	0.273	0.006	126.245
16	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	47	15.200	0.274	0.001	126.237
17	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	73	15.219	0.293	0.019	126.079
18	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	64	15.239	0.313	0.020	125.914
19	38	David Ragan	Ford	60	15.242	0.316	0.003	125.889
20	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	75	15.243	0.317	0.001	125.881
21	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	69	15.246	0.320	0.003	125.856
22	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	65	15.249	0.323	0.003	125.831
23	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	60	15.268	0.342	0.019	125.675
24	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	80	15.268	0.342	0.000	125.675
25	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	59	15.329	0.403	0.061	125.175
26	22	Joey Logano	Ford	58	15.335	0.409	0.006	125.126
27	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	32	15.349	0.423	0.014	125.011
28	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	56	15.367	0.441	0.018	124.865
29	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	42	15.399	0.473	0.032	124.605
30	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	87	15.411	0.485	0.012	124.508
31	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	55	15.417	0.491	0.006	124.460
32	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	60	15.456	0.530	0.039	124.146
33	7	J.J. Yeley	Chevrolet	11	15.498	0.572	0.042	123.810
34	55	Gray Gaulding	Chevrolet	15	15.510	0.584	0.012	123.714
35	51	B.J. McLeod	Chevrolet	8	15.577	0.651	0.067	123.182
36	83	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	29	15.596	0.670	0.019	123.032
37	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	44	15.608	0.682	0.012	122.937
38	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	50	15.646	0.720	0.038	122.638
39	23	Joey Gase	Toyota	65	15.831	0.905	0.185	121.205
40	15	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	14	15.852	0.926	0.021	121.045
41	66	Timmy Hill	Chevrolet	16	16.021	1.095	0.169	119.768