The 42 Nationwide Series teams were on track bright and early on Friday morning for their practice sessions for Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Practicing at 8:30 AM may not be the best preparation for a race that starts just shy of 5 PM EDT, but the teams did their best to prepare.
The fastest driver in the session was David Ragan, driving the No. 98 Shelby Engines/DenBeste Heavy Equipment Rental Ford with a time of 49.712 seconds (181.043 mph), a lap that is nearly four-tenths of a second faster than the track record. Ty Dillon was second quickest, followed by Dylan Kwasniewski. Brendan Gaughan was fourth quickest, while Paul Menard rounded out the top 5. Menard’s lap of 50.051 seconds (179.817 mph) was done much earlier in the session than most other fast laps.
Ryan Reed hit the wall exiting Turn 1 in his No. 16 Ford early in the session, resulting in right side damage. The team has chosen to repair the car.
In the final practice session, Dillon held onto his pace from the morning and turned in a lap of 49.932 seconds (180.245 mph) to be quickest. He was the only driver to turn a sub-50 second lap in the second session. Teammate Brian Scott was second, followed by Sprint Cup regulars Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.
Qualifying is scheduled for Noon on Saturday and will be aired quasi-live (time shifted) on FOX Sports 1.
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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