AVONDALE, Ariz. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR photo —
Just when you thought seven-time Phoenix International Raceway winner Kevin Harvick might be a little bit off, the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion found a way to bounce back during final practice at the one-mile oval on Saturday afternoon.
Harvick drove his No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet to a fast lap of 26.409 seconds (136.317 mph) to pace the 39-car field in the 50-minute session, the last tune-up prior to Sunday’s Good Sam 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM).
The Bakersfield, Calif. native has won four out of the last five Sprint Cup stops at PIR and will be looking to become the fourth different winner in four 2016 races on Sunday afternoon.
His Stewart Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch, who led the first practice on Saturday, timed in second on both single lap speed (26.437/136.173) and 10-lap average speed (26.62/135.24) during ‘Happy Hour’ and had some candid descriptions of the track conditions he experienced during the session.
“As it kept getting warmer out there, the track kept getting greasier and tougher to handle,” the elder Busch brother explained. “You always want to go back to where the car felt the best, but (when the first practice was held) at 9 a.m., that’s not realistic. There were a couple times during that long run, though, where I started to feel the old Phoenix again. There was just this long drift off of (turn) two, this lazy entry into (turn) three and this lower downforce is definitely coming into play because of that.”
“We’ll see what we can get come race time. We’re right there in the mix — you just have to find the right combination (of driver, car and circumstances) and have the right pit strategy (to go to victory lane).”
Kyle Busch’s Toyota was third (26.452/136.096), with the Chevrolets of rookie Chase Elliott (26.462/136.044) and third-year driver Austin Dillon (26.481/135.947) completing the ‘Fast Five’.
Notables from sixth on back on the speed charts included the Ford trio of Brad Keselowski (seventh), Joey Logano (ninth) and Ryan Blaney (10th); the backup car for Jimmie Johnson (13th) and surprisingly solid runs for the BK Racing Toyotas of David Ragan (19th) and Matt DiBenedetto (20th).
The fourth race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, the Good Sam 500, goes green at 3:44 p.m. ET on Sunday, live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice; Phoenix International Raceway; March 12, 2016
- Kevin Harvick
- Kurt Busch
- Kyle Busch
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Dillon
- Kasey Kahne
- Brad Keselowski
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Ryan Blaney
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson
- Jimmie Johnson
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Carl Edwards
- Paul Menard
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Newman
- David Ragan
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Danica Patrick
- Matt Kenseth
- Greg Biffle
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Ty Dillon
- Jamie McMurray
- Casey Mears
- Regan Smith
- Trevor Bayne
- Clint Bowyer
- Brian Scott
- Landon Cassill
- Chris Buescher
- Michael McDowell
- Cole Whitt
- Joey Gase
- Michael Annett
- Josh Wise
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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