FONTANA, Calif. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Jonathan Moore/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
Matt Kenseth continued Joe Gibbs Racing’s remarkable day on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway, pacing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice at the two-mile oval after his teammate Carl Edwards topped opening Cup practice earlier in the day and JGR XFINITY driver Daniel Suarez scored that series’ pole award as well.
Kenseth’s lap of 38.831 seconds (185.419 mph) in the No. 20 DeWalt Toyota was enough to top the 39-car field in advance of Sunday’s fifth race of the season, and led a one-two Gibbs punch ahead of Edwards’ No. 19 Subway Toyota in second (38.846/185.347).
A trio of Fords followed the top two, with rookie Ryan Blaney’s No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center entry for the Wood Brothers posting the third-best lap (38.885/185.161) ahead of Penske technical partner Joey Logano in fourth (38.898/185.099). Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Smithfield Ford rounded out the top five (38.904/185.071).
The front five were the only drivers to break the 185 mile per hour barrier during the 55-minute session.
Polesitter Austin Dillon, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman capped off the top 10.
An incident with just under 25 minutes to go in the session saw Kyle Larson go for a long slide in of turns three and four, losing momentum as he skidded along the outside line. Greg Biffle’s No. 16 Ford had a huge run on fresh tires as he moved up the track off the exit of turn four, and the Washington native plowed into the back of Larson’s No. 42 Target Chevrolet with nowhere to go.
Both drivers explained their sides of what happened after their cars were settled in the garage area.
“I was running decent laps up on the top groove, and just got loose,” Larson explained. “I corrected and just nicked the wall, but I had to slow down so much that the 16 caught me … in the back end … when he was exiting the corner. We’re trying to decide if we need to go to a backup (car) — I didn’t hit the wall that hard, so the frame’s alright; it’s mostly I think a lot of body damage. I was decent there, just disappointed that we got tore up. It was my fault, though, so I take the blame on this one and apologize to Biffle and his guys.”
“I was on sticker tires, so I was probably closing on (Larson) 20 miles per hour (faster) coming off the corner,” Biffle added. “I was really focused on my marks on the race track and I didn’t see him slowing. I was looking beyond him so I could come off the corner properly, and it looked like he started wobbling early. I missed the first wobble, second wobble — and by the time I saw the closure rate, he was completely out of the gas.”
“He said he didn’t know I was back there. In practice, you just let all the way out of the gas, roll down to the bottom and come in but I didn’t expect him to slow down that fast. With the hell of a run I had on fresh tires, it was just a bad deal.”
As of the conclusion of practice, it was not determined whether either Larson or Biffle would elect to change to a backup car and drop to the rear for Sunday’s Auto Club 400.
The Auto Club 400 takes the green flag on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice; Auto Club Speedway; March 19, 2016
- Matt Kenseth
- Carl Edwards
- Ryan Blaney
- Joey Logano
- Aric Almirola
- Austin Dillon
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Jamie McMurray
- Kasey Kahne
- Ryan Newman
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Brad Keselowski
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jimmie Johnson
- Greg Biffle
- Kyle Busch
- Brian Vickers
- Paul Menard
- Regan Smith
- Casey Mears
- Denny Hamlin
- Chase Elliott
- Trevor Bayne
- Kurt Busch
- Danica Patrick
- Kyle Larson
- Kevin Harvick
- Clint Bowyer
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Brian Scott
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Michael McDowell
- Landon Cassill
- David Ragan
- Cole Whitt
- Josh Wise
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Michael Annett
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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