Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford has suffered a fair share of performance issues thus far in the 2016 NASCAR XFINITY Series season. However, if Friday’s second practice at Michigan International Speedway is any sign, the team may be getting things back on track.
An early 191.826 mph lap from Joey Logano topped the session for Penske’s single-car outfit, coming in .311 mph ahead of Blake Koch, who claimed a surprising second on the charts with a late run.
Ryan Reed (191.418 mph), Erik Jones (191.159 mph) and Justin Allgaier (191.027 mph) rounded out the top five, with Paul Menard, Ty Dillon, Brandon Jones, Daniel Suarez and Brendan Gaughan completing the top 10.
Jones’ fourth-fast lap comes after topping the first NXS practice session held earlier in the day. The rookie’s earlier 192.092 mph circuit led the way as the fastest lap on the day for the series.
The XFINITY Series will return on Saturday morning for Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 10:00 a.m. ET.
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.
“Performance issues” is the least of the problematic. Speed, speed and speed, something is rotten in Denmark and it isn’t the drivers. No matter who is driving the car, the issue is the same. An issue that has not been present before. I feel Bullins gone seems to be the obvious start and the lack of consistent speed. Arron got any specifics you care to enlighten us on? It is a strange and out of the norm considering their past success.
I’m just as perplexed as you are, kb. Their cars have just lacked speed for the better part of the season so far. It’s very unlike Team Penske to underperform in any series for long, so I’m sure they’ll bounce back soon – perhaps today.