It was the Team Penske show during Saturday’s practice sessions in advance of Sunday’s Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Ryan Blaney led the way in the opening practice while his teammate Brad Keselowski led the second session.
Blaney opened up the first session of the day with the fastest lap. A 178.992-mph lap around the Chicagoland Speedway put Blaney’s No. 12 PPG Ford Fusion on the top of the speed charts. Jimmie Johnson almost earned the fastest lap of the first session but had to settle for second, he was 0.022-seconds slower than Blaney.
Johnson wasn’t the only Hendrick Motorsports driver inside the top five as Alex Bowman finished third and Chase Elliott finished fourth. Daniel Suarez, who called his shot in the media center that he will make the playoffs, rounded out the top-five speeds in practice.
Johnson turned the most laps of the session at 31 while Timmy Hill turned the least amount of laps at six. There was a 2.685-second margin between first place Blaney and last place Kyle Weatherman. BJ McLeod was the only driver who didn’t turn a lap during the session.
Results from Overton’s 400 Practice
Keselowski cracked open a cold one during an extremely hot afternoon in Jolliet, Illinois. In the Stars, Stripes, and Lites Ford Fusion, Keselowski turned a 180.826-mph lap around Chicagoland Speedway to make him fastest in the final practice session. Martin Truex Jr., the driver who has won the last two races at Chicagoland, finished the session in second 0.028-seconds off of leader Keselowski.
Joey Logano finished the race in third while Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-five speeds.
Jamie McMurray (7th) turned the most laps of the session at 47 while Gray Gaulding (35th) turned the least amount of laps at four. There was a 2.908-second margin between first place Keselowski and last place Hill.
Results from Overton’s 400 Final Practice
Qualifying for Sunday’s Overton’s 400 will go live on NBCSN at Chicagoland after the XFINITY Series race, slated for 7 p.m./ET. Countdown to Green goes live on NBCSN tomorrow (July 1st) at 2 p.m./ET with the race going live at 2:30 p.m./ET.
About the author
His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.
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