The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 8 kicks off this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but it was two drivers out of the playoffs who paced the two practice sessions on Saturday morning (Oct. 27): Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman.
Keselowski, who won the Spring 2017 Martinsville race, ran a lap of 95.714 miles per hour to post the quickest time in the opening session. Former Martinsville winners Kurt (95.646 mph) and Kyle Busch (95.593 mph) were second and third quickest.
Ryan Blaney (95.357 mph) was fourth, and Aric Almirola (95.280 mph) was fifth.Â
Newman (95.280 mph), who won the 2012 Spring Martinsville race, was quickest in final practice later in the afternoon. Playoff drivers Chase Elliott (94.913 mph) and Kyle Busch (94.784 mph) were second and third.
Keselowski (94.510 mph) was fourth quickest in the second session, and AJ Allmendinger (94.242 mph) rounded out the top five.
The green flag for the First Data 500 will waive at 2:43 p.m. EST on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 28). NBCSN and MRN will broadcast the race.
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.
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