In the first NASCAR Cup Series practice session since August — and in his final session as a driver for Team Penske — Brad Keselowski ran the fastest lap of the 39 cars to hit the track at Phoenix Raceway, reaching a speed of 135.384 mph on Friday, Nov. 5.
Kyle Larson, Matt DiBenedetto, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott followed Keselowski to complete the rest of the top five. Larson was the fastest of the Championship 4 contenders, followed by Elliott.
Fellow Championship 4 drivers Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. posted the eighth- and 18th-fastest laps of the session, respectively.
The practice experienced a brief delay toward the beginning of the hour after BJ McLeod‘s car caught on fire. McLeod emerged uninjured from his car on pit road.
Cup Phoenix Practice Results
The series will qualify for Sunday’s (Nov. 7) race at 7:05 p.m. ET on Nov. 6, with TV coverage provided by CNBC. 39 cars are entered, meaning all will start Sunday’s race.
The Cup season finale will take place on Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. ET, with coverage provided by NBC.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf