Carl Edwards was fastest in the brief Friday morning Sprint Cup Series practice at Pocono Speedway after turning a lap at 179.802 mph.
The session, originally scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. local time, was first delayed twenty minutes for fog. Then, after just 28 drivers had made their way onto the 2.5-mile triangle, NASCAR had to put the session on hold due to rain, eventually cancelling it after the rain didn’t let up.
Of the 28 drivers who were able to turn a lap or two, Stewart Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were the second and third quickest at 178.827 mph and 178.649 mph, respectively. Paul Menard finished the session in fourth while defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch, still seeking his first Pocono victory rounded out the top-5 speeds.
Only five drivers were able to complete more than three laps around “The Tricky Triangle”. Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed six laps and was 14th on the speed chart while teammate Kasey Kahne also completed six laps and ran 16th. Chris Buescher, Michael Annett, and Brian Scott all ran seven laps but were deeper down the list.
According to Jamie Little of Fox Sports, NASCAR didn’t consider this session long enough to set the field on practice speed alone. With all on track activity Friday threatened to be rained out, including qualifying, the field will line up on Sunday by owner points if that is the case.
Full practice results can be found here.
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.