Race Weekend Central

Erik Jones Tops Bristol Cup Practice

It was a good day for the young men in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Erik Jones, the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing rookie, topped practice at 15.009 seconds (127.843 mph). The 20-year-old bested five-time Bristol winner Kyle Busch by 0.089 seconds to earn the top spot.

Ryan Blaney ended third quick in his No. 21, a further 0.101 off Jones.

Though the top of the board had some young talent, 21-year-old Chase Elliott suffered the first incident of the weekend, spinning his No. 24 off Turn 4. Though that spin resulted in no damage, the same cant be said for Kasey Kahne, who slapped the wall after running high in Turn 3.

Joey Logano had a similar fate, losing the inside lane for the entrance to Turn 3 from Danica Patrick before popping the wall in his Team Penske Ford.

“It’s crazy,” Logano said. “We got screwed up off [Turn] 4, the [No.] 10 put me into the outside lane — the track was so dirty, it’s like you pop a tire. It’s amazing how quick it did that.”

The VHT substance, that has added an increase in grip and rubber on the inside lane of the half-mile track, showed its colors during this session, as all drivers fought for that inside lane.

Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth quick followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the top 10.

Click here for full practice results.

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