NASCAR Xfinity Series teams prepared their cars in a pair of practice sessions Friday (Oct. 4) for Saturday’s Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200. Chase Briscoe took the top spot in the first period, while his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Cole Custer led the final session.
First Practice
In practice for the final race in the Round of 12, Briscoe went a fast lap of 152.394 mph. Christopher Bell’s single-lap speed of 151.656 mph was second quickest. Close behind Bell was Tyler Reddick, who went 151.649 mph in third. Custer took the fourth-fastest speed of 151.560 mph. Rounding out the top five was Justin Allgaier, who went 151.407 mph in the session.
Harrison Burton, practicing for his sixth Xfinity race of the season, took the sixth-quickest lap time. JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Zane Smith were seventh and eighth fastest, respectively. Finishing up the top 10 were Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones and GMS Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek.
Just three drivers ran 10 consecutive laps in the session. Brandon Brown averaged 133.359 mph, Ray Black Jr. averaged 132.734 mph and Chad Finchum had an average of 131.187 mph.
Xfinity First Practice Results from Dover
There was one stoppage period for Gray Gaulding’s No. 08 car, which slowed on the track with smoke.
Final Practice
Custer was the lone driver to post a single lap speed over 151 mph to top the final session. Briscoe was second this time and posted a lap speed of 150.558 mph. Close behind in third was Burton, who went 150.521 mph. Gragson’s 150.194 mph lap was fourth, and Allgaier rounded out the top five, going 150.156 mph.
In sixth was Bell, who was the last driver above 150 mph. Reddick, Smith, Justin Haley and Michael Annett finished up the top 10.
Of the 35 drivers to make a lap time, 16 ran at least 10 consecutive laps. Custer led the way there as well with an average speed of 149.737 mph. Allgaier averaged 148.855 mph, with Briscoe just behind him in third. Smith and Gragson posted the fourth- and fifth-quickest lap averages.
Xfinity Final Practice Results from Dover
No incidents were reported in this session.
Qualifying for the Use Your Melon Drive Sober 200 will begin Saturday, Oct. 5 at 12:05 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Network’s television coverage will join in at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The green flag for the race will wave shortly after 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised watching motorsports and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.