Aric Almirola is fastest in final Cup practice at Texas
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| Aric Almirola |
Aric Almirola surged atop the speed chart in Friday’s final Monster Energy Series practice at Texas Motor Speedway.
Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford snared the top spot with a best lap of 188.561 mph at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval. The effort bookended another chart-topping performance the Stewart-Haas organization, which led the way with Clint Bowyer in the opening session.
Denny Hamlin claimed the second-fastest lap at 188.350 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. He’ll be vying for a season sweep of Texas’ two races in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM)
Bowyer best in first Texas practice
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| Clint Bowyer |
Clint Bowyer stepped up to the top of the Monster Energy Series leaderboard Friday in opening practice at Texas Motor Speedway.
Bowyer sealed a best speed of 188.679 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford to pace the 50-minute session, the first on-track activity ahead of Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Kurt Busch was the second-fastest driver on the speed chart with a lap of 188.574 mph in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet. Denny Hamlin, a winner at the Fort Worth venue’s most recent race in March, was third-fastest in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. landed the fourth-best lap with Erik Jones completing the top five.