Practice
As a new track on the NASCAR schedule – at least for any driver born after 1956, which is all of them – the series decided to hold one practice session for the Jockey Made in America 250 at Road America. That was crucial for drivers and it will significantly change the lines on major drivers.
But while it tells a story, it doesn’t tell the whole story.
This 4.1-mile road course is massive, but it is also narrow. There are a lot of passing zones and posting a fast overall lap doesn’t necessarily mean that a driver is fastest where he needs to be. Use practice speeds as a guideline to set your fantasy lineup or make your final wagers, but don’t become a slave to it.
Most of the fastest practice speeds were set early, before the session became marred by several cautions. If a favorite seems to have slow time, remember that the most critical factor is comfort and confidence through the corners.
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Just as the field was settling into their comfortable paces, Kurt Busch put on a fresh set of tires and jumped to the top of the board with a 133.849 mph lap with less than three minutes remaining. If he can back that up Sunday morning with a pole, he suddenly becomes the best dark horse contender for the outright win. That wager needs to be backed up with one for a top-10.
Kyle Busch was on the top of the board with 40 minutes remaining when his suspension rolled over badly. He radioed in that he felt he had either lost a shock or the sway bar broke. Regardless of the outcome – and either problem could be fixed without the need of a backup – Busch lost meaningful practice time. Busch has made no secret about needing track time to be at his best.
But things got worse for Busch when he got back on course. A slower competitor went off course in the kink and kicked up a cloud of dust that may have obscured his vision. Busch went wide, slid off course, slammed the wall, and will have to roll out a backup car. No matter where he qualifies Sunday morning, he will have to roll out a backup and drop to the back of the pack to start.
Busch remained second on the speed chart when the checkers waved, .267 seconds slower than his brother, and his Joe Gibbs Racing backup should be fast. It’s hard to imagine him winning this week, however.
Austin Cindric was one of our dark horse picks earlier this week because of his Xfinity experience. He did nothing to make us lose confidence with his third-fastest speed of 134.280 mph.
Ryan Blaney in fourth and Tyler Reddick – both of whom set their fast times late in the session – round out the top five.
Another solid part time driver, AJ Allmendinger was seventh on the chart with a 134.637 mph lap.
That leaves the three favorites outside that mark.
Kyle Larson posted the ninth fastest time of 134.700 mph. The time was .851 seconds off the leader’s pace. Larson is not the driver one automatically thinks of as being conservative in practice, but qualifying and race conditions will likely be different and it’s not time to panic just yet.
Chase Elliott was 1.219 seconds (135.068 mph) off the pace in 14th. He won’t lose his favored status with that lap, but you might want to scale back the size of your bet.
Martin Truex Jr. entered the session as the third-favored driver. His lap time of 135.619 mph (1.770 seconds off pace) is confusing. Then again, he has confounded us all year long. Was he being conservative, or is he headed for the same kind of disappointment he showed at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) before he was involved in the crash?
NBC Sports’ analysts are concerned.
“Truex isn’t the kind of guy that you think needs to pull himself back to keep from wrecking,” Jeff Burton said during practice coverage. “You see him able to make lap time consistently and run up front. I think he just doesn’t have pace.”
The remainder of booth concurred.
Brad Keselowski was a little luckier that Ky. Busch when he got off course in the kink. He spun twice in front of teammate Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. Elliott narrowly missed him in the cloud of dust. The kink is going to be a huge danger zone that throws a wild card into the race.
Ryan Preece destroyed his car in the opening minutes of practice after sliding off course on the back side of the track. The No. 37 is probably not on a lot or radar screens, but in the event that his ninth-place finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona International Speedway caught your attention, he will likely have to roll out a backup and drop to the rear of the field. Preece’s 2021 road experience has gotten progressively worse with his ninth followed by a 15th at COTA and 21st at Sonoma Raceway.
At the bottom of the gird, Quin Houff broke a sway bar, which underscores how tough Road America is going to be on equipment.
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