Race Weekend Central

Chris Buescher Fastest in Opening Nationwide Series Practice

Early Friday afternoon, Chris Buescher set the pace to beat in the opening practice session for the Nationwide Series.

Driving the Bit ‘O Honey Ford in a one-race sponsorship deal, Buescher’s lap of 29.019 seconds (186.085 mph) was more than a tenth of a second quicker than Joey Logano in second. Buescher’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate Trevor Bayne was third quickest, followed by Austin Dillon and Brian Scott.

Of the championship contenders, Scott was the fastest of the bunch in fifth, while Elliott Sadler was seventh fastest. Points leader Chase Elliott was 15th quickest, while teammate Regan Smith was 17th.

In the group of drivers ineligible to earn points, Logano was fastest in second, followed by Austin Dillon. Ryan Blaney, driving a second entry for Team Penske, was sixth quickest while Kevin Harvick was eighth.

Qualifying for the Nationwide Series will be tomorrow at 12 p.m. It will be aired live on FOX Sports 2.

About the author

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

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