Kyle Busch, Truex lead practices at Phoenix – Nascar
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Practice 3 recap | Results | Best consecutive 10-lap average
Kyle Busch led final practice in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. Busch turned a fast lap of 136.358 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the 1-mile track where Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will determine the final two drivers in the Championship 4 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski (136.286 mph) and Joey Logano (136.204 mph) finished second and third, respectively. The No. 2 Ford will line up 14th on Sunday, while the No. 22 Ford of Chase driver Logano will start fourth.
Pole winner Alex Bowman, who ran 50 laps during the session, was fourth in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 136.044 mph. Richard Childress Racing‘s Austin Dillon rounded out the top five at 135.977 mph.
Kyle Larson brought out the caution flag when his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet spun in Turn 2, but it appeared to avoid contact with the outside wall. Larson, a non-Chase driver, finished seventh in the session at 135.747 mph.
Other Chase drivers had the following finishes in final practice: Matt Kenseth (10th), Jimmie Johnson (11th), Kevin Harvick (14th), Carl Edwards (15th), Kurt Busch (20th) and Denny Hamlin (22nd).
Johnson (Martinsville) and Edwards (Texas) are locked into the Championship 4 by virtue of their wins earlier in the Round of 8.
Practice 2 recap | Results | Best consecutive 10-lap average
Martin Truex Jr. led Saturday’s first of two Sprint Cup Series practice sessions at Phoenix International Raceway ahead of Sunday’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Round of 8 elimination race.
With a top speed of 135.476 mph, Truex Jr. topped the speed charts in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota in preparation for the Cam-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio). After having pre-qualifying inspection trouble Friday that prevented him from making a qualifying run, Truex Jr. will line up 40th Sunday.
Truex was eliminated from the 2016 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in the Round of 12. Brad Keselowski, who suffered the same Chase fate, was second fastest at 135.410 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.
With only Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards locked into berths for the season finale at Homestead-Miami, the top Round of 8 contender on the speed charts in this practice session was Joey Logano in fifth at 135.014 mph in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
Two more drivers eliminated in the Round of 16 filled out the top five, with Jamie McMurray third at 135.105 mph in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and teammate Kyle Larson fourth after hitting 135.059 mph in the No. 42.
Kurt Busch, who almost certainly needs a win to advance to the Championship 4, was ninth fastest Saturday afternoon with a top speed of 134.786 mph in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. He will start 12th on Sunday.
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