DOVER, Del. — If Kyle Larson’s concrete prowess to-date in NASCAR competition is any indication, he will be a contender all weekend long during the Round of 16 elimination weekend at Dover Int’l Speedway.
That prowess continued on Friday, as Larson placed his No. 42 Target Chevrolet on top of the speed charts in the day’s only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session at the ‘Monster Mile’, posting a quick lap of 21.742 seconds (165.578 mph) around the one-mile oval ahead of this weekend’s Citizen Soldier 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).
The Elk Grove, California native was one of eight Chase drivers who were among the top 10 fastest cars in the 85-minute session and will look for his second-career Cup victory (following his win at Michigan earlier this year) on Sunday afternoon.
He has had a strong history at the smaller Bristol Motor Speedway, which also features a concrete surface. Larson’s career record at the Tennessee half-mile includes a pole and six top five finishes in XFINITY competition, as well as a best finish of seventh (April 2015) in Cup competition with 90 laps led.
Larson’s best career finish in Cup action at Dover was a runner-up effort to Matt Kenseth, which came in May of this year.
Carl Edwards’ Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was second-quick overall, with the Columbia, Missouri native touring the concrete cathedral in 21.802 seconds, for an average speed of 165.122 mph.
Larson and Edwards were the only two drivers above the 165 mph threshold.
Kenseth (21.848/164.775) was third in another JGR Toyota, followed by Ryan Newman, who was fourth for Richard Childress Racing and ended as the highest-ranking non-championship contender in practice.
10-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson completed the top five ahead of Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Austin Dillon and Martin Truex Jr.
Chasers outside the top 10 included Kurt Busch (11th), Joey Logano (12th), Jamie McMurray (16th), Brad Keselowski (19th), Kevin Harvick (20th), Tony Stewart (24th) and Kyle Busch (28th).
The slowest Chase contender in practice was Front Row Motorsports’ Chris Buescher, who clocked in 31st in the No. 34 CSX/Play It Safe Ford.
The start of the practice session was delayed by 15 minutes due to track drying, after rain moved through the area earlier on.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying rolls off at 3:40 p.m. ET, with live coverage on NBCSN and the NBC Sports App.
