Kasey Kahne fastest in truck return

CONCORD, N.C. — Kasey Kahne topped the speed chart in the first Camping World Truck Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday with a lap of 180.258 mph.

Kahne’s fast lap came in the 19th circuit of 21 laps of practice in the JR Motorsports No. 00 Haas Automation Chevy.

The Hendrick Motorsports Sprint Cup racer has not run a truck since 2012 when he won at Rockingham Speedway. In five career truck starts, Kahne has four wins. While he has never competed in a truck at Charlotte, Kahne has four wins, nine top fives and 13 top-10 finishes in 22 starts on the 1.5-mile track. 

Joe Nemechek (179.856 mph), Daniel Hemric (179.581 mph), Spencer Gallagher (179.485 mph) and Justin Boston (179.313 mph) rounded out the top five on fast laps. Erik Jones, Scott Legasse Jr., Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10.

Only three trucks ran 10 or more consecutive laps. Keselowski’s No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford was fastest with an average speed of 175.424 mph followed by Brandon Brown and Todd Peck. 

The trucks return to the track at 7:00 p.m. ET for Happy Hour. Qualifying for the CWTS is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. ET on Friday. Green flag for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 will follow the Sprint Showdown tomorrow night.