Martin Truex Jr. tops Cup Series practice on Indianapolis Road Course
Martin Truex Jr. turned the fastest lap in the lone NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Truex posted a lap of 98.021 mph in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to pace the practice.
“We ended up first, and I’m really happy with the car,” Truex said after the session. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what it brings.”
William Byron took second in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (97.487 mph) followed by Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (97.445 mph). Truex’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin (97.148 mph) took fourth while Team Penske’s Austin Cindric closed out the top five (97.137 mph) in what will be his final Cup start of the season before he goes full time with Team Penske in 2022.
Practice Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Behind | Gap |
| 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Auto-Owners Insurance/MTJF Toyota | 89.577 | 98.0207 | —.— | —.— |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Axalta Chevrolet | 90.067 | 97.4874 | -0.49 | -0.49 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 90.106 | 97.4452 | -0.529 | -0.039 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Ground Toyota | 90.382 | 97.1477 | -0.805 | -0.276 |
| 5 | *33 | Austin Cindric(i) | MoneyLion Ford | 90.392 | 97.1369 | -0.815 | -0.01 |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | STANLEY Toyota | 90.397 | 97.1315 | -0.82 | -0.005 |
| 7 | 14 | Chase Briscoe # | HighPoint.com/FordPerf.RacingSchl. Ford | 90.511 | 97.0092 | -0.934 | -0.114 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 90.531 | 96.9878 | -0.954 | -0.02 |
| 9 | 21 | Matt Dibenedetto | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 90.539 | 96.9792 | -0.962 | -0.008 |
| 10 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | BetMGM Chevrolet | 90.549 | 96.9685 | -0.972 | -0.01 |
| 11 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Knauf Ford | 90.654 | 96.8562 | -1.077 | -0.105 |
| 12 | 41 | Cole Custer | Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford | 90.711 | 96.7953 | -1.134 | -0.057 |
| 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Dow MobilityScience Chevrolet | 90.713 | 96.7932 | -1.136 | -0.002 |
| 14 | 34 | Michael McDowell | CarParts.com Ford | 90.763 | 96.7399 | -1.186 | -0.05 |
| 15 | 7 | Corey Lajoie | Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet | 90.78 | 96.7217 | -1.203 | -0.017 |
| 16 | *16 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Hyperice Chevrolet | 90.797 | 96.7036 | -1.22 | -0.017 |
| 17 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | CommScope Chevrolet | 90.827 | 96.6717 | -1.25 | -0.03 |
| 18 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M’s Mix Toyota | 90.878 | 96.6174 | -1.301 | -0.051 |
| 19 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Clover Chevrolet | 90.893 | 96.6015 | -1.316 | -0.015 |
| 20 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Unibet Ford | 90.94 | 96.5516 | -1.363 | -0.047 |
| 21 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Discount Tire Ford | 90.964 | 96.5261 | -1.387 | -0.024 |
| 22 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 90.99 | 96.4985 | -1.413 | -0.026 |
| 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hooters Chevrolet | 91.016 | 96.471 | -1.439 | -0.026 |
| 24 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Castrol Ford | 91.077 | 96.4063 | -1.5 | -0.061 |
| 25 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Mobil 1 Ford | 91.093 | 96.3894 | -1.516 | -0.016 |
| 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Petty’s Garage Chevrolet | 91.099 | 96.3831 | -1.522 | -0.006 |
| 27 | 77 | Justin Haley(i) | Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet | 91.142 | 96.3376 | -1.565 | -0.043 |
| 28 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Chevrolet | 91.274 | 96.1983 | -1.697 | -0.132 |
| 29 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald’s Toyota | 91.275 | 96.1972 | -1.698 | -0.001 |
| 30 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Saved By The King Ford | 91.564 | 95.8936 | -1.987 | -0.289 |
| 31 | 15 | James Davison | Tilson Chevrolet | 91.57 | 95.8873 | -1.993 | -0.006 |
| 32 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs Ford | 91.641 | 95.813 | -2.064 | -0.071 |
| 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hungry Jack Chevrolet | 91.921 | 95.5212 | -2.344 | -0.28 |
| 34 | 78 | Andy Lally(i) | Blacktop Mojo Ford | 92.185 | 95.2476 | -2.608 | -0.264 |
| 35 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo # | Elliott’s Custom Motorcoaches Ford | 92.253 | 95.1774 | -2.676 | -0.068 |
| 36 | *37 | Ryan Preece | Kroger Chevrolet | 92.54 | 94.8822 | -2.963 | -0.287 |
| 37 | 51 | Cody Ware(i) | Nurtec ODT Chevrolet | 92.673 | 94.746 | -3.096 | -0.133 |
| 38 | 53 | Garrett Smithley(i) | Jacob Companies Ford | 93.686 | 93.7216 | -4.109 | -1.013 |
| 39 | 0 | Quin Houff | Sherfick Companies Chevrolet | 94.942 | 92.4817 | -5.365 | -1.256 |
| 40 | *66 | Timmy Hill(i) | AAW Luxury Cars/CrashClaims Toyota | 95.004 | 92.4214 | -5.427 | -0.062 |