On Friday afternoon, the 43 Sprint Cup Series teams in attendance hit the track at Michigan International Speedway for their only practice session prior to qualifying. The track has been very fast since the recent repave, and the times turned in definitely show that.
Joey Logano, on his final lap on-track, turned in the fastest lap of the session at 35.200 seconds (204.545 mph). That lap is just a couple of thousandths of a second slower than the track record that was set by Kevin Harvick in June. The lap was three-quarters of a tenth faster than Carl Edwards in second (35.275 seconds, 204.111 mph).
Brian Vickers was third quickest, followed by Kurt Busch. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was fifth quickest.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was sixth fastest, followed by Paul Menard and Greg Biffle. Jeff Gordon was ninth, while Brad Keselowski was tenth.
Other notables include Jeff Burton, driving the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing in place of Tony Stewart. Burton was 25th quickest with a lap of 35.939 seconds (200.339 mph). Matt Crafton, subbing for Martin Truex, Jr. in the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, was 37th fastest.
Landon Cassill was the only driver to fail to get out on the track. The Snap Fitness Chevrolet for Hillman Racing had issues under the hood. Cassill, upon hearing the news, left the track to travel to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in order to get some laps in his No. 01 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller.
Qualifying is scheduled for 4:40 PM this afternoon. FOX Sports 1 will air “time shifted” coverage of the session.
26 drivers all turned in laps above 200 mph for an average during the session.
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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