Race Weekend Central

Dale Yeah! Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tops 2015 Jeff Kyle 400 Practice at Indianapolis

As the 20th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s lone triumph in the 1995 Brickyard 400 approaches, his son is now showing potential to accomplish the same feat.

BEARDEN: Childress, Myers Remember Earnhardt’s Big 1995 Brickyard Win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. laid down a 181.466-mph lap to top the second practice session for Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Brad Keselowski ended the session in second after hitting a speed of 181.448 mph on a mock qualifying run. Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, will look to give owner Roger Penske his first NASCAR victory at the Brickyard.

Kasey Kahne (181.408), Kyle Larson (181.378) and Clint Bowyer (181.331) rounded out the top five.

Jeff Gordon put down the sixth quickest time as he prepares for his final Indianapolis start with a speed of 181.189 mph. Martin Truex, Jr., David Ragan, Ryan Blaney and 2010 winner Jamie McMurray finished out the top 10.

The session was marred by strange cautions in the early going. Denny Hamlin, who topped the opening practice earlier in the day, was heading out to complete his first laps of second practice when his hood flew up over his windshield. Hamlin would finally make his way to the track late in the session, finishing 12th on the charts.

Another caution fell shortly after Hamlin’s incident when a large piece of lead fell out of Timmy Hill’s No. 98 Ford. No drivers made contact with the heavy weight and practice resumed upon its removal from the racing surface. Hill is driving his second race for low-budget Premium Motorsports after Josh Wise parted ways with the team earlier this month.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will return for final practice at 4 p.m. ET.

2015 JEFF KYLE 400 SECOND PRACTICE SPEEDS

POS. CAR #DRIVERMANUFACTURERSPONSORBEST SPEEDBEST TIMEBEHIND
188Dale Earnhardt JrChevroletNationwide181.46649.596Leader
22Brad KeselowskiFordMiller Lite181.44849.6010.005
35Kasey KahneChevroletFARMERS181.40849.6120.016
442Kyle LarsonChevroletTarget181.37849.620.024
515Clint BowyerToyota5-Hour Energy181.33149.6330.037
624Jeff GordonChevrolet3M181.18949.6720.076
778Martin Truex JrChevroletFurniture Row/Visser Precision180.98149.7290.133
855David RaganToyotaAaron's Dream Machine180.8949.7540.158
921Ryan BlaneyFordMotorcraft / Quick Lane / JDRF180.78549.7830.187
101Jamie McMurrayChevroletMcDonald's/Cessna180.52749.8540.258
1148Jimmie JohnsonChevroletKobalt Tools180.06849.9810.385
1211Denny HamlinToyotaFedEx Express179.96850.0090.413
1310Danica PatrickChevroletGoDaddy179.79550.0570.461
144Kevin HarvickChevroletJimmy John's/ Budweiser179.58350.1160.52
1520Matt KensethToyotaDollar General179.36150.1780.582
1614Tony StewartChevroletMobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops178.82750.3280.732
1725Chase ElliottChevroletNAPA Auto Parts178.79850.3360.74
1813Casey MearsChevroletNo. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS178.7150.3610.765
1918Kyle BuschToyotaSkittles177.6250.671.074
2019Carl EdwardsToyotaStanley177.28850.7651.169
213Austin DillonChevroletDow - Mycogen177.08950.8221.226
2227Paul MenardChevroletDuracell / Menards176.76550.9151.319
2316Greg BiffleFordLilly/American Diabetes Association Ford Fusion176.53350.9821.386
2441Kurt BuschChevroletHaas Automation176.41251.0171.421
2531Ryan NewmanChevroletGrainger176.0751.1161.52
2695Michael McDowellFordThrivent Financial176.05651.121.524
276Trevor BayneFordAdvocare Ford Fusion175.92951.1571.561
2835Cole WhittFordSpeed Stick175.76151.2061.61
2922Joey LoganoFordShell Pennzoil175.70951.2211.625
3047AJ AllmendingerChevroletKroger/Kingsford Charcoat174.86351.4691.873
3140Landon CassillChevroletTBA174.17951.6712.075
3233Brian ScottChevroletShore Lodge174.06851.7042.108
3383Matt DiBenedettoToyotaVooDoo BBQ & Grill173.75951.7962.2
3443Aric AlmirolaFordEckrich173.60851.8412.245
3517Ricky Stenhouse JrFordNOS Energy Drink Ford Fusion173.30451.9322.336
3626Jeb BurtonToyotaMaxim Fantasy Sports/Estes173.00452.0222.426
379Sam Hornish JrFordMedallion Bank173.00452.0222.426
3832Josh WiseFordBrandise Machinery172.94152.0412.445
3934Brett MoffittFordCSX Play It Safe172.90752.0512.455
4051Justin AllgaierChevroletBrandt172.64552.132.534
417Alex BowmanChevroletMarsh Supermarkets Chevrolet172.34152.2222.626
4246Michael AnnettChevroletSwitch Hitch171.99952.3262.73
4338David GillilandFordFFA171.0852.6073.011
4423J.J. YeleyToyotaDr. Pepper170.05852.9233.327
4562Reed SorensonChevroletTBA168.78353.3233.727
4698Timmy HillFordCurb Records167.45453.7464.15

About the author

A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.

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DoninAjax

Practice doesn’t mean anything. Johnson’s ego says “I want this one” and he’ll win it and cause a lot of TVs to be channel surfing. Johnson doesn’t have any “problem” that can’t be solved with “debris” caution adjustments. If he qualifies up front it won’t take him as long to lead.

Overra88ted

Aaron… Don’t get your underwear in a bundle over the 2nd session of 3 scheduled practice sessions. The first 2 of which were for all purposes just test sessions with everyone on different agendas. Your “cheerleading” shows your lack of knowledge about Na$crap. Weather/time of day during practice 3 was closer to race conditions on Sunday. Your boy didn’t exactly lite the world up in practice 3.

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