Given he’s won there a record 11 times, Jimmie Johnson was right back at home in Saturday’s final NASCAR Cup practice at Dover International Speedway.
Johnson was fastest among the 37 drivers that took to the 1-mile concrete oval, with a speed of 161.863 mph.
However, Johnson’s top speed in 59 laps was over 4 mph slower than Friday’s pole qualifying speed of 165.960 mph by Chase Elliott.
Dover is the last track Johnson won at, back in 2017. He comes into Sunday’s race riding a 69-race winless streak, the longest of his career.
Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest Toyota driver, second to Johnson, at 161.718 mph, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones (161.435 mph).
Kyle Larson was fourth (161.139 mph), followed by Aric Almirola (160.908 mph), Daniel Suarez (160.865), William Byron (160.829), Kurt Busch (160.406), Clint Bowyer (160.299) and Elliott (160.206).
The Gander RV 400 kicks off Sunday afternoon at 2 pm ET (Fox Sports 1, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTES: Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Matt Tifft and Quin Houff all had their practice session shortened by 15 minutes in the final session for penalties from Friday’s pre-qualifying inspection. ... Saturday morning’s first Cup practice was cancelled due to lingering fog in the Dover, Delaware area.
