Ryan Blaney craftily motored his way to the top of the scoring pylon in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series opening practice for the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Friday (Aug. 11).
Blaney posted a lap of 35.365 seconds with a speed of 203.591 miles per hour in the 90-minute practice. The Wood Brothers Racing entry was the only car in the field to top 203 mph in the session.
Kyle Busch (202.327 mph) put up the second best lap in the opening practice, but slapped the wall late in the session. The team will try to fix the primary car in time for qualifying later in the evening.
Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin (201.935 mph) was third quickest. Hamlin has Camping World Truck Series driver Christopher Bell on standby should his pregnant girlfriend Jordan Fish go into labor.
Martin Truex Jr. (201.856 mph) and Michigan native Brad Keselowski (201.805 mph) rounded out the top-five.
Kyle Larson (201.500 mph), winner of the previous two races at MIS, was seventh fastest in opening practice.
All 39 entries for the race posted a time in the session, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. running the most laps at 27.
Results of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 Practice No. 1
Qualifying for the race is Friday, Aug. 11 at 5:05 p.m./e.t. on NBC Sports Network. The Pure Michigan 400 will also be on NBCSN on Sunday, Aug. 13 at 3 p.m./e.t.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020. Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.