Race Weekend Central

Drew Herring Tops Rain-Shortened 2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 Final Practice at Kentucky

He may not get many chances to race, but Drew Herring has made the most of limited opportunities to practice and qualify for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Herring overcame an early slide to set a fast time of 30.689 seconds to top a rain-shortened practice session for the NASCAR Xfinity Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Herring, 28, is practicing and qualifying the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota for JGR. Erik Jones will fly to Kentucky and compete in the machine tomorrow evening after competing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier in the day.

Ryan Blaney wheeled the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford to second-fastest on the charts for Team Penske, with a time of 30.741 seconds. Blaney is looking for his second NXS victory of the season at a track he conquered in 2013.

Daniel Suarez ended the session in third after dropping a 30.753-second circuit at the Sparta, Ky. track. Suarez has one previous NXS start at the 1.5-mile facility, coming in July.

Fresh off an announced 2016 championship run, Brandon Jones laid down a 30.786-second lap to lead the way for Richard Childress Racing. Teammates Brian Scott, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan followed Jones to take fifth, sixth and seventh.

Matt Tifft, Chris Buescher and Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 10.

The Xfinity Series will return to action on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole Qualifying.

2015 VISITMYRTLEBEACH.COM 300 HAPPY HOUR SPEEDS

POS. CAR #DRIVERMANUFACTURERSPONSORBEST SPEEDBEST TIMEBEHIND
154Drew HerringToyotaMonster175.95930.689Leader
222Ryan BlaneyFordDiscount Tire175.66130.7410.052
318Daniel SuarezToyotaArris175.59330.7530.064
433Brandon JonesChevroletBarrett-Jackson Waxes / Menards175.40430.7860.097
52Brian ScottChevroletShore Lodge175.32530.80.111
63Ty DillonChevroletWESCO175.17130.8270.138
762Brendan GaughanChevroletSouth Point174.7430.9030.214
820Matt TifftToyotaUNC Charlotte174.23930.9920.303
960Chris BuescherFordAdvoCare Ford Mustang174.19930.9990.31
101Elliott SadlerFordOneMain Financial Ford Mustang174.04231.0270.338
1188Ben RhodesChevroletAlpha Energy Solutions174.01431.0320.343
126Darrell Wallace JrFordBleacher Report Ford Mustang173.94131.0450.356
139Chase ElliottChevroletNAPA Auto Parts173.92431.0480.359
147Regan SmithChevroletTaxSlayer Bowl173.61131.1040.415
1542Brennan PooleChevroletDC Solar173.48331.1270.438
1651Jeremy ClementsChevroletAllsouthelectric.com-RepairableVehicles.com173.22731.1730.484
1716Ryan ReedFordLilly/American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang173.20531.1770.488
1828J.J. YeleyToyotaJGL Racing172.44131.3150.626
194Ross ChastainChevroletProtect Your Melon / Watermelon.org172.16631.3650.676
2098Ryan TruexFordCarroll Shelby Engine Company171.6331.4630.774
2139Ryan SiegChevroletRSS Racing171.12431.5560.867
2243Dakoda ArmstrongFordWinField170.7431.6270.938
231Michael SelfChevroletU Drive U Text U Pay170.49831.6720.983
2444David StarrToyotaZachry170.31531.7061.017
2514Cale ConleyToyotaIAVA170.17531.7321.043
2626T.J. BellToyotaJGL Racing170.01431.7621.073
278Blake KochToyotaLeafFilter Gutter Protection169.92931.7781.089
2897Dylan KwasniewskiChevroletVroom Brands169.66231.8281.139
2925Dylan LuptonChevroletZaxby's169.2131.9131.224
3052Joey GaseChevroletDB Sales Company167.98932.1451.456
3170Derrike CopeChevroletXcalibur Pit School/Buddy's167.55632.2281.539
3224Eric McClureToyotaHefty166.75432.3831.694
3392Mario GosselinChevroletCrashClaimsR.US165.68532.5921.903
3489Morgan ShepherdChevroletTBA165.35532.6571.968
3515Ryan EllisChevroletBobba Burger/BYB165.14832.6982.009
3613Carl LongFordBraille Battery/Grafoid164.7432.7792.09
3790Martin RoyChevroletGamache Truck Center164.24432.8782.189
3874Mike HarmonChevroletTBA163.15233.0982.409
3940John JacksonToyotaBraille Battery/Grafoid157.02234.393.701
400Harrison RhodesChevroletteamjdmotorsports.com00-30.689

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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