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 # | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | SPONSOR | BEST SPEED | BEST TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | Drew Herring | Toyota | Monster | 175.959 | 30.689 | Leader |
| 2 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | Discount Tire | 175.661 | 30.741 | 0.052 |
| 3 | 18 | Daniel Suarez | Toyota | Arris | 175.593 | 30.753 | 0.064 |
| 4 | 33 | Brandon Jones | Chevrolet | Barrett-Jackson Waxes / Menards | 175.404 | 30.786 | 0.097 |
| 5 | 2 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | Shore Lodge | 175.325 | 30.8 | 0.111 |
| 6 | 3 | Ty Dillon | Chevrolet | WESCO | 175.171 | 30.827 | 0.138 |
| 7 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Chevrolet | South Point | 174.74 | 30.903 | 0.214 |
| 8 | 20 | Matt Tifft | Toyota | UNC Charlotte | 174.239 | 30.992 | 0.303 |
| 9 | 60 | Chris Buescher | Ford | AdvoCare Ford Mustang | 174.199 | 30.999 | 0.31 |
| 10 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | OneMain Financial Ford Mustang | 174.042 | 31.027 | 0.338 |
| 11 | 88 | Ben Rhodes | Chevrolet | Alpha Energy Solutions | 174.014 | 31.032 | 0.343 |
| 12 | 6 | Darrell Wallace Jr | Ford | Bleacher Report Ford Mustang | 173.941 | 31.045 | 0.356 |
| 13 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts | 173.924 | 31.048 | 0.359 |
| 14 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | TaxSlayer Bowl | 173.611 | 31.104 | 0.415 |
| 15 | 42 | Brennan Poole | Chevrolet | DC Solar | 173.483 | 31.127 | 0.438 |
| 16 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | Allsouthelectric.com-RepairableVehicles.com | 173.227 | 31.173 | 0.484 |
| 17 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Ford | Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford Mustang | 173.205 | 31.177 | 0.488 |
| 18 | 28 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | JGL Racing | 172.441 | 31.315 | 0.626 |
| 19 | 4 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet | Protect Your Melon / Watermelon.org | 172.166 | 31.365 | 0.676 |
| 20 | 98 | Ryan Truex | Ford | Carroll Shelby Engine Company | 171.63 | 31.463 | 0.774 |
| 21 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Chevrolet | RSS Racing | 171.124 | 31.556 | 0.867 |
| 22 | 43 | Dakoda Armstrong | Ford | WinField | 170.74 | 31.627 | 0.938 |
| 23 | 1 | Michael Self | Chevrolet | U Drive U Text U Pay | 170.498 | 31.672 | 0.983 |
| 24 | 44 | David Starr | Toyota | Zachry | 170.315 | 31.706 | 1.017 |
| 25 | 14 | Cale Conley | Toyota | IAVA | 170.175 | 31.732 | 1.043 |
| 26 | 26 | T.J. Bell | Toyota | JGL Racing | 170.014 | 31.762 | 1.073 |
| 27 | 8 | Blake Koch | Toyota | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | 169.929 | 31.778 | 1.089 |
| 28 | 97 | Dylan Kwasniewski | Chevrolet | Vroom Brands | 169.662 | 31.828 | 1.139 |
| 29 | 25 | Dylan Lupton | Chevrolet | Zaxby's | 169.21 | 31.913 | 1.224 |
| 30 | 52 | Joey Gase | Chevrolet | DB Sales Company | 167.989 | 32.145 | 1.456 |
| 31 | 70 | Derrike Cope | Chevrolet | Xcalibur Pit School/Buddy's | 167.556 | 32.228 | 1.539 |
| 32 | 24 | Eric McClure | Toyota | Hefty | 166.754 | 32.383 | 1.694 |
| 33 | 92 | Mario Gosselin | Chevrolet | CrashClaimsR.US | 165.685 | 32.592 | 1.903 |
| 34 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet | TBA | 165.355 | 32.657 | 1.968 |
| 35 | 15 | Ryan Ellis | Chevrolet | Bobba Burger/BYB | 165.148 | 32.698 | 2.009 |
| 36 | 13 | Carl Long | Ford | Braille Battery/Grafoid | 164.74 | 32.779 | 2.09 |
| 37 | 90 | Martin Roy | Chevrolet | Gamache Truck Center | 164.244 | 32.878 | 2.189 |
| 38 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Chevrolet | TBA | 163.152 | 33.098 | 2.409 |
| 39 | 40 | John Jackson | Toyota | Braille Battery/Grafoid | 157.022 | 34.39 | 3.701 |
| 40 | 0 | Harrison Rhodes | Chevrolet | teamjdmotorsports.com | 0 | 0 | -30.689 |
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