Race Weekend Central

Kurt Busch Paces Opening Coca-Cola 600 Practice

Kurt Busch led the only Coca-Cola 600 practice prior to qualifying Thursday evening for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, posting a speed of 192.843 mph.

Though he was two mph slower than last year’s pole speed, the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 winner was over two-tenths of a second faster than the second-quickest driver, Jimmie Johnson. He only circuited Charlotte Motor Speedway for seven laps, strictly doing qualifying runs.

Four-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Johnson ran a lap at 191.252 mph, running seven laps in the session, quickest on lap 1.

Carl Edwards, defending winner of this event, was third fastest at 191.042 mph. Kevin Harvick was fourth at 190.772 mph, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top-5 speeds at 190.745 mph.

Kyle Busch practiced on qualifying and race runs, completing 25 laps in the 90-minute session, most of all drivers. Busch, who ended up 10th was the only driver to make a 10-lap run. Charlotte is one of two tracks on the schedule that Busch has not visited Victory Lane in the Cup Series — the other being Pocono, where the tour heads next week.

See a full rundown of results here.

Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. Thursday evening, and speeds should be faster with more grip on the track. 40 drivers are entered for 40 spots so all teams running will make the race.

About the author

Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.

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