For the first time in XFINITY Series history, race cars logged laps on Pocono Raceway. Joe Gibbs Racing led the way, topping the charts in both practice sessions on Thursday.
Practice One:
Defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch led the opening practice at 170.171 mph, over a tenth of a second faster than his closest competition, which was teammate Erik Jones.
Jones, who has previously competed at Pocono in the Camping World Truck Series, posted a lap at 169.770 mph.
Two Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet’s joined the top five, led by Paul Menard in third at 169.122 mph. Ty Dillon was fifth quick at 168.571 mph, with Justin Allgaier splitting the two RCR cars in fourth with a lap of 168.922 mph.
Daniel Suarez was sixth to complete the JGR stable, with Alex Bowman, Brennan Poole, Elliott Sadler and Kyle Larson rounding out the top 10.
Poole ran 19 laps, most of all competitors. He has a win at Pocono, coming in the ARCA Racing Series back in 2012.
Practice Two:
After the entire garage changed gear ratios from 50 points to 60 points, Jones led the way in the second practice of the afternoon at 172.914 mph. He was followed by XFINITY Series rookie Brandon Jones at 171.298 mph, over four tenths off the quickest lap.
Busch was third at 171.138. Dillon posted the fourth best time and Suarez rounded out the top five.
Menard, Joey Logano, Larson, Allgaier and Bowman completed the top 10 speeds.
Two cars made a run of 10 laps or longer, led by Allgaier with an average speed of 168.843 mph. Menard was the only other driver to complete a long run.
The XFINITY Series is scheduled to have two more practices on Friday, though the forecast calls for rain. The radar looks better for Saturday, currently with a 10 percent chance of rain.
About the author
Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.
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