Practice report
NASCAR Cup Michigan
Martin Truex Jr. leads NASCAR Cup practice at Michigan
Martin Truex Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas led the way in Saturday’s NASCAR Cup practice at Michigan International Speedway.
Jim Utter
Edited: Aug 6, 2023, 3:13 AM
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Truex ended up with the fastest average lap speed (192.020 mph) to lead both sessions, just edging JGR teammate Christopher Bell (191.984 mph), who was second-fastest overall.
Chevrolet driver William Byron – who ran in the first session – was third fastest overall.
JGR driver Ty Gibbs was fourth and Ross Chastain rounded out the top five.
Among those drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps, Byron had the top average speed (190.592 mph). Kyle Busch and Gibbs were second and third, respectively, in that category.
Group A
Byron led the way in the first 20-minute session with an average lap speed of 191.729 mph.
“We were in a lot of traffic there,” Byron said. “We never got very many clean laps. I feel confident for what we have in qualifying.”
Blaney was second fastest (191.397 mph) and Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman was third (191.199 mph).
Fellow Hendrick driver Kyle Larson was fourth and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.
Josh Berry drove the Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 Chevrolet on Saturday replacing Noah Gragson, who was suspended by his team and NASCAR. Berry was 16th-fastest.
Austin Cindric only got about six minutes on track after his Team Penske No. 2 Ford had electrical issues that needed to be resolved.
Group B
Truex and his JGR teammates easily topped the second 20-minute session, as Truex ended with an average lap speed of 192.020 mph.
Bell was second fastest (191.984 mph) and fellow teammate Ty Gibbs was third (191.693 mph).
Chastain and Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five, as Toyotas claimed four of the top spots.
About midday through the second session, Corey LaJoie got loose in Turn 3, ran up the track and tagged the Turn 4 wall to bring out a caution.
Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Mph 1 
MARTIN TRUEX JRJoe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 19 37.496 192.020 2 CHRISTOPHER BELLJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 21 +0.007 0.007 191.985 3 WILLIAM BYRONHendrick Motorsports 24 Chevrolet 14 +0.057 0.050 191.729 4
TY GIBBSJoe Gibbs Racing
54 Toyota 25 +0.064 0.007 191.693 5 ROSS CHASTAINTrackHouse Racing 1 Chevrolet 23 +0.106 0.042 191.479 6 RYAN BLANEYTeam Penske 12 Ford 22 +0.122 0.016 191.398 7 ALEX BOWMANHendrick Motorsports 48 Chevrolet 24 +0.161 0.039 191.200 8 KYLE LARSONHendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 13 +0.164 0.003 191.184 9 TYLER REDDICK23XI Racing 45 Toyota 19 +0.175 0.011 191.128 10 KYLE BUSCHRichard Childress Racing 8 Chevrolet 22 +0.180 0.005 191.103 11 CHASE ELLIOTTHendrick Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 21 +0.200 0.020 191.002 12 AJ ALLMENDINGERKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 23 +0.214 0.014 190.931 13 BRAD KESELOWSKIRFK Racing 6 Ford 13 +0.229 0.015 190.855 14 CHRIS BUESCHERRFK Racing 17 Ford 17 +0.246 0.017 190.769 15 BUBBA WALLACE23XI Racing 23 Toyota 17 +0.250 0.004 190.749 16 DENNY HAMLINJoe Gibbs Racing 11 Toyota 23 +0.283 0.033 190.582 17 COREY LAJOIESpire Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 9 +0.328 0.045 190.355 18 ERIK JONESLegacy Motor Club 43 Chevrolet 13 +0.339 0.011 190.300 19 
DANIEL SUAREZTrackHouse Racing 99 Chevrolet 16 +0.343 0.004 190.280 20 JOEY LOGANOTeam Penske 22 Ford 17 +0.364 0.021 190.174 21 JUSTIN HALEYKaulig Racing 31 Chevrolet 13 +0.398 0.034 190.004 22 AUSTIN DILLONRichard Childress Racing 3 Chevrolet 22 +0.399 0.001 189.999 23 RICKY STENHOUSE JRJTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevrolet 18 +0.420 0.021 189.893 24 ARIC ALMIROLAStewart-Haas Racing 10 Ford 28 +0.441 0.021 189.788 25 KEVIN HARVICKStewart-Haas Racing 4 Ford 20 +0.496 0.055 189.514 26 AUSTIN CINDRICTeam Penske 2 Ford 10 +0.537 0.041 189.309 27 MICHAEL MCDOWELLFront Row Motorsports 34 Ford 18 +0.549 0.012 189.250 28 CHASE BRISCOEStewart-Haas Racing 14 Ford 15 +0.594 0.045 189.026 29 RYAN PREECEStewart-Haas Racing 41 Ford 11 +0.613 0.019 188.932 30 HARRISON BURTONWood Brothers Racing 21 Ford 17 +0.672 0.059 188.640 31 TY DILLONSpire Motorsports 77 Chevrolet 17 +0.709 0.037 188.457 32 JOSH BERRYLegacy Motor Club 42 Chevrolet 19 +0.725 0.016 188.378 33 AUSTIN HILLBeard Motorsports 62 Chevrolet 27 +0.746 0.021 188.275 34 TODD GILLILANDFront Row Motorsports 38 Ford 17 +0.831 0.085 187.857 35 COLE CUSTERRick Ware Racing 51 Ford 17 +0.936 0.105 187.344 36 JJ YELEYRick Ware Racing 15 Ford 13 +1.353 0.417 185.333 37 JOSH BILICKILive Fast Motorsports 78 Chevrolet 19 +2.118 0.765 181.754
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