NASCAR XFINITY Series teams took to Kansas Speedway Friday afternoon (Oct. 19) for a pair of 55-minute practice sessions ahead of Saturday’s Hollywood Casino 300.
Daniel Hemric set the fastest time in the first session on his first lap out on the track at 179.916 mph. The lap was 0.043 seconds faster than second-place driver Christopher Bell. Tyler Reddick was third quickest, followed by Shane Lee, who was the only non-playoff driver to crack the top five. Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.
John Hunter Nemechek, who’s closing out the year behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was sixth-quickest, followed by Justin Allgaier. Cole Custer, Matt Tifft and Ryan Reed, who just go news this week that he’s losing primary sponsor Lilly Diabetes at the end of the year, rounded out the top 10.
Elliott Sadler was the lone playoff driver outside the top 10 during the first practice. He was 13th-quickest with a 177.585 mph lap.
NXS KANSAS 1ST PRACTICE SPEEDS
The second session, held under partial sunlight instead of the heavy cloud cover from the first one, saw Lee jump to the top of the board with a 179.480 mph lap. Ty Majeski was second-quickest, followed by Bell. Cindric and Hemric rounded out the top five.
Once again, Nemechek was sixth, followed by Brandon Jones. Ryan Preece, Custer and Allgaier rounded out the top 10.
The only incident across both sessions was a spin by Matt Tifft late in the final practice. The No. 2 Chevrolet suffered minimal damage and should not need to be replaced by a backup.
NXS KANSAS PRACTICE 2 SPEEDS
Getting all the practice wrinkles out before Saturday!@matt_tifft | @kansasspeedway pic.twitter.com/s6YJbkfbXw
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 19, 2018
The XFINITY Series begins its Round of 8 with the Hollywood Casino 300 Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET. Bell holds a slim five-point advantage over Allgaier. Hemric sits third just two points above the cut line, while Cole Custer is currently fourth.
Elliott Sadler, Tyler Reddick, Matt Tifft and Austin Cindric find themselves on the outside looking in with three races to make their case to be a part of the Championship 4.
