In the first NASCAR Xfinity Series practice of the weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the race’s three defending winners topped the charts.
Kyle Busch, 2013 victor at the 2.5-mile Speedway, Indiana track laid down a 178.717-mph lap to set quick time in opening practice for Saturday’s Lilly Diabetes 250. Busch put down the lap in his final practice run of the day to bypass Paul Menard, who ended the session in second with a 177.845-mph lap. Menard, 34, has one win at Indianapolis, coming in the 2011 Brickyard 400 (Sprint Cup). Menard’s last NXS victory came at Michigan in 2014.
Erik Jones (176.139), Kyle Larson (175.967) and Ryan Blaney (175.654) rounded out the top-five speeds. Rookie Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, Brendan Gaughan, Brian Scott and Regan Smith made up the back half of the top 10.
Xfinity Series championship contenders Chris Buescher (14th), Chase Elliott (15th) and Ty Dillon (16th) all ended the session outside the top 10. Their cars, along with the rest of the 40-car entry list will return to the track at 2:30 p.m. ET for final practice.
2015 LILLY DIABETES 250 FIRST PRACTICE SPEEDS
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.