The two practice sessions on Saturday, July 20 for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway were adventurous, to say the least. Leading the second and final practices for the 2019 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 were Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney, respectively.
Second Practice
Still seeking his first win of the season, Jones hopes his speed translates to the race as the Byron, Mich. native led Saturday’s initial practice with a lap of 133.476 mph. Jones ran 40 laps in the first session, excelling just a day after the Joe Gibbs Racing driver announced he’s “close” to a contract extension with the team.
There was one incident in the first practice as William Byron and Kyle Larson both tagged the wall.
The troubles continue in practice at @NHMS! @KyleLarsonRacin makes slight contact with the wall in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. pic.twitter.com/AcdnCDbczw
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 20, 2019
Heavy damage for @WilliamByron!
The No. 24 makes contact with the wall in Saturday's opening practice session at @NHMS. pic.twitter.com/D0RbjVHNxQ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 20, 2019
Both Larson and Byron will now go to backup cars for Sunday’s race. That ups the total to five as Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin crashed in Friday’s first practice. Then, Alex Bowman lost his driveshaft during qualifying and blew up at the start/finish line.
Larson to a backup car. That means five cars to backups this weekend (all will drop to tail of field on pace laps): Larson Byron Bowman Newman Hamlin. #nascar
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 20, 2019
Brad Keselowski was second in the session. Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch and Blaney rounded out the top-five speeds.
FOXWOODS RESORT 301 SECOND PRACTICE RESULTS
Final Practice
Blaney led NASCAR’s Happy Hour practice session when he laid down a fast lap of 133.572 mph. He completed 37 laps, with the ninth lap being his fastest as the Team Penske Ford showed solid short-run speed. He will start tomorrow’s race from the fifth position while seeking his first win of the year.
Hamlin posted the second-fastest speed of 133.226 mph in his backup No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Rounding out the top 5 in this session were Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.
The two main incidents in final practice were courtesy of Bowman and Matt DiBenedetto.
Bowman wrecked his backup car in this session. Because he has wrecked both his primary and backup cars, Hendrick Motorsports will use the backup car for Jimmie Johnson for Bowman to drive in Sunday’s race. The Chicagoland Speedway winner will definitely have a challenge ahead of him having never driven the repurposed No. 48 car.
What happens next for @AlexBowman88 and the No. 88 team following the crash of the backup car?
Jeff Andrews, Vice President of Competition for @TeamHendrick, explains the situation. pic.twitter.com/Pm6S6hib1M
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 20, 2019
DiBenedetto, meanwhile dealt with two flat tires in this session. Therefore, he only completed 11 laps in final practice, slotting in 20th fastest just one day after the best qualifying effort of his Cup career (seventh).
FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO 301 FINAL PRACTICE RESULTS
The Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 is scheduled to take place Sunday, July 21 at 3 p.m. ET. TV coverage will be provided by NBC Sports Network.
NASCAR RACE WEEKEND CENTRAL: NEW HAMPSHIRE
About the author
Bryan Nolen is the Operations Manager and Multimedia Director for Frontstretch.com. He also hosts the Bringing the Heat with Bryan Nolen Podcast and occasionally makes appearances on The Happy Hour Podcast. He has a Sportscasting degree from the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting. He resides in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, his French Bulldog Archer and two rabbits.
Follow him on Twitter @TheBryanNolen
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.