Stewart-Haas Racing drivers Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola topped the two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice charts on Friday (Nov. 1) at Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.
In the first practice of the afternoon, Bowyer was fastest in his Ford with a speed of 188.679 mph. Kurt Busch’s Chevrolet was second with a speed of 188.547 mph, and Denny Hamlin’s Toyota was third fastest at 188.324 mph.
Bowyer put together the 10 fastest consecutive laps in first practice. His average speed was 186.702 mph, and SHR teammate Kevin Harvick was second with a speed of 186.131 mph.
Chase Elliott was slowest among the playoff drivers, placing 26th at 185.293 mph. John Hunter Nemechek, who is making his Cup debut in the No. 36 Front Row Motorsports Ford in place of Matt Tifft was 29th fastest (184.508 mph) in his first career Cup Series practice.
Texas First Cup Practice Results
Almirola was fastest in final practice with a speed of 188.561 mph. Placing second on the charts was Hamlin at 188.350 mph. Rounding out the top five was Bowyer in third (188.258 mph), Harvick in fourth (187.905 mph), and Kurt Busch fifth (187.761 mph).
A total of 29 cars turned at least 10 consecutive laps in this session. Once again, Bowyer and Harvick held the two fastest speeds. Bowyer averaged 187.267 mph and Harvick 186.889 mph.
Joey Logano was the slowest playoff driver in second practice. He was 21st with a speed of 186.728 mph.
Texas Second Cup Practice Results
No incidents took place in the first practice. The second practice of the afternoon was halted for four minutes when Timmy Hill stalled at the exit of pit road with 30 minutes to go in the session. He would require a push back around before practice resumed.
Cup Series qualifying is tomorrow (Noc at 7:05 p.m. ET on CNBC and the NBC Sports App.