CONCORD, N.C. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Sarah Glenn/Getty Images North America photo — The Outlaw is in town, and he’s laying siege to Charlotte.
Kurt Busch, driving the No. 41 State Water Heaters/Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, paced Friday’s first practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in advance of Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 — the second session of Cup practice overall. Busch posted a quick lap of 191.157 mph in the opening minutes of practice, and no one was able to match his pace through the remainder of the 50-minute session. Busch was the only driver in the session to eclipse 191 mph.
Busch was fifth in Thursday’s opening practice and he qualified 11th last night after setting a new Charlotte track record in excess of 198 mph.
Behind ‘The Outlaw’, three of the remaining twelve Chase for the Sprint Cup Contenders made up the rest of the top four on speed.
Joey Logano, last week’s winner at Kansas, posted a top speed of 190.476 mph to slot in second overall in his No. 22 Pennzoil Platinum Ford for Team Penske. His 2013 rival Denny Hamlin was third-quick on the speed charts at 190.295 mph, giving all three manufacturers representation among the top three spots on the leaderboard.
Busch’s teammate Kevin Harvick was fourth on the board (189.967 mph). Harvick is a two-time Coca-Cola 600 champion, but has never won the fall race at Charlotte.
Paul Menard was the highest-practicing non-Chase driver in fifth, and also carried the banner for Richard Childress Racing with a speed of 189.727 mph.
Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski clocked the sixth and seventh-fastest laps, respectively, and were the only other Chase contenders inside the top ten. Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle rounded out the fast ten.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who turned 40 today, was 11th-quick, followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne in 12th.
Several Chasers struggled to find speed during the session, as Jimmie Johnson (17th), Ryan Newman (23rd), Jeff Gordon (27th) and polesitter Kyle Busch (29th) all found themselves outside the top-15 at the end of practice.
Kyle Busch, who won the Coors Light Pole Award on Thursday, did not hit the track until the final five minutes of practice.
Final practice at Charlotte is slated for later tonight, from 5:30-6:50 p.m. ET. It will be televised on ESPN2.
The Bank of America 500 is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage on ABC.
