Race Weekend Central

Kyle Larson Fastest In Saturday Morning Practice Session

After rain washed out practice sessions on Friday for both the Monster Energy Open and All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR added a one-hour combined session for teams Saturday morning.  Cars this weekend have a dramatically different aerodynamic package, making the extra time on track more critical than it might otherwise have been.

Kyle Larson led the pack in the high-drag, low horsepower cars with a top lap speed of 173.305 mph. Clint Bowyer was second and Kevin Harvick third. All three are already in the All-Star event tonight.

The fastest Open drivers were Aric Almirola (172.474 mph), Daniel Suarez and Darrell Wallace Jr., who were fourth, fifth and sixth overall, respectively.  Kurt Busch was seventh, Alex Bowman eighth, Ryan Blaney ninth and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10.

Other notables include seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson in 11th, point leader Kyle Busch in 12th and reigning Cup champ Martin Truex Jr. in 19th.

Larson also led the way with the best 10-lap average at 171.756 mph.  Suarez, Wallace, Bowyer and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five on that chart.

The top 27 of the 38 cars that practiced were within a half-second of one another on lap times, and most teams practiced drafting in packs as the session wore on, something that this rules package allows.

The Monster Energy Open is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET with the All-Star Race to follow at 8 p.m. ET.

MONSTER ENERGY OPEN/ALL-STAR FINAL PRACTICE RESULTS

About the author

Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.

Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter

A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share via