Kyle Busch put together the fastest lap in the 50-minute practice session at Phoenix Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series championship race Friday (Nov. 3).
Busch grabbed the top spot after wheeling his No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro to a 130.814 mph lap.
Behind him in the second position on the leaderboard was Bubba Wallace, who ran 130.676 mph in his No. 23 Star Wars x Columbia Sportswear Toyota Camry TRD. Behind him was Ryan Blaney, who ran a best speed of 130.378 mph, the fastest lap by a Championship 4 driver.
Christopher Bell was right behind him, also in pursuit of a title, with the fourth fastest lap.
Ross Chastain was fifth fastest, and the rest of the top 10 was filled out by Joey Logano, the winner of last year’s championship race and title, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Larson.
Larson, who won the 2021 title by winning the finale at Phoenix, was the slowest of the Championship 4 by the end of the session, tied with Brad Keselowski for the 10th-fastest lap. He was also spotted tagging the wall with six minutes to go while experimenting with running high against the wall in an attempt to arch the corner.
Busch did not escape with the fastest lap unscathed. The only incident of note during the event was when the No. 16 of AJ Allmendinger tagged him on the frontstretch and spun out with 18 minutes left on the clock.
The two cars had minimal cosmetic damage, but both went to the garage area afterward and the crews were underneath the wheel wells to make sure the cars were ready for Saturday’s qualifying session.
Phoenix Cup Series Practice Results
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for the championship race at Phoenix Raceway will take place at 4:35 p.m. ET on Nov. 4 and will be broadcast on USA Network. The championship race will take place on Sunday Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
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