Pole-winner Erik Jones fastest in final Cup practice at Las Vegas
Erik Jones heads into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener on Sunday as the pole winner and fastest in final practice.
Photo by: Russell LaBounty / NKP / Motorsport Images
Jones, who won the pole Friday for Sunday’s South Point 400, set the pace early in Saturday’s final practice, posting an average lap speed of 181.251 mph early in the 50-minute session.
“It is slick. The track has had more grip than I thought it was going to have, thankfully, which has been nice,” Jones said. “I mean 400 laps is going to be really slick – especially if it’s hot as it’s going to be.
“That’s what makes it fun. That’s why we want to race at this level.”
Ryan Blaney ended up second fastest (181.238 mph) and Alex Bowman was third (181.202 mph). Brad Keselowski was fourth and Ryan Newman, who was fastest in Saturday’s first practice, completed the top-five.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Jamie McMurray.
Jones also had the fastest average lap speed among those who ran at least 10 consecutive laps (178.025 mph). Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Blaney and Aric Almirola filled out the top-five in that category.
Take a virtual lap around Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the No. 78 Toyota Camry of Martin Truex Jr., courtesy of NASCAR Heat 3, which you can order now:
Cla | # | Driver | 4506 | Laps | Time | Gap | Interval | Mph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 20 | Erik Jones | Toyota | 42 | 29.793 | 181.251 | ||
2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 36 | 29.795 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 181.238 |
3 | 88 | Alex Bowman | Chevrolet | 39 | 29.801 | 0.008 | 0.006 | 181.202 |
4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 45 | 29.818 | 0.025 | 0.017 | 181.099 |
5 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 38 | 29.871 | 0.078 | 0.053 | 180.777 |
6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 42 | 29.887 | 0.094 | 0.016 | 180.681 |
7 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | 48 | 29.912 | 0.119 | 0.025 | 180.530 |
8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 52 | 29.995 | 0.202 | 0.083 | 180.030 |
9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | 43 | 30.026 | 0.233 | 0.031 | 179.844 |
10 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 44 | 30.029 | 0.236 | 0.003 | 179.826 |
11 | 24 | William Byron | Chevrolet | 37 | 30.056 | 0.263 | 0.027 | 179.665 |
12 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 43 | 30.061 | 0.268 | 0.005 | 179.635 |
13 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Ford | 45 | 30.065 | 0.272 | 0.004 | 179.611 |
14 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 48 | 30.079 | 0.286 | 0.014 | 179.527 |
15 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 52 | 30.095 | 0.302 | 0.016 | 179.432 |
16 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Chevrolet | 30 | 30.101 | 0.308 | 0.006 | 179.396 |
17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 39 | 30.138 | 0.345 | 0.037 | 179.176 |
18 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Ford | 44 | 30.145 | 0.352 | 0.007 | 179.134 |
19 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 45 | 30.175 | 0.382 | 0.030 | 178.956 |
20 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Ford | 38 | 30.188 | 0.395 | 0.013 | 178.879 |
21 | 43 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Chevrolet | 39 | 30.307 | 0.514 | 0.119 | 178.177 |
22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 39 | 30.334 | 0.541 | 0.027 | 178.018 |
23 | 21 | Paul Menard | Ford | 32 | 30.343 | 0.550 | 0.009 | 177.965 |
24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 36 | 30.400 | 0.607 | 0.057 | 177.632 |
25 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 17 | 30.409 | 0.616 | 0.009 | 177.579 |
26 | 47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 26 | 30.523 | 0.730 | 0.114 | 176.916 |
27 | 13 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | 43 | 30.589 | 0.796 | 0.066 | 176.534 |
28 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 41 | 30.627 | 0.834 | 0.038 | 176.315 |
29 | 95 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 39 | 30.690 | 0.897 | 0.063 | 175.953 |
30 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Ford | 15 | 30.839 | 1.046 | 0.149 | 175.103 |
31 | 99 | Kyle Weatherman | Chevrolet | 11 | 30.863 | 1.070 | 0.024 | 174.967 |
32 | 38 | David Ragan | Ford | 29 | 30.895 | 1.102 | 0.032 | 174.786 |
33 | 72 | Corey Lajoie | Chevrolet | 20 | 30.981 | 1.188 | 0.086 | 174.300 |
34 | 15 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | 27 | 31.304 | 1.511 | 0.323 | 172.502 |
35 | 96 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Toyota | 24 | 31.508 | 1.715 | 0.204 | 171.385 |
36 | 23 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 21 | 31.526 | 1.733 | 0.018 | 171.287 |
37 | 00 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 26 | 31.551 | 1.758 | 0.025 | 171.151 |
38 | 7 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 4 | 31.853 | 2.060 | 0.302 | 169.529 |
39 | 51 | B.J. McLeod | Ford | 13 | 32.117 | 2.324 | 0.264 | 168.135 |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments