Kyle Busch posted the fastest lap in Saturday morning’s Cup practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Busch led the way with a lap of 128.865 mph. He was followed by rookie Erik Jones (128.649 mph), Denny Hamlin (128.176), Kevin Harvick (128.091) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (128.005).
Jones had the best average over 10 consecutive laps at 127.178 mph. He was followed by Kasey Kahne (126.863 mph), Chase Elliott (126.442), Paul Menard (126.388) and Austin Dillon (126.383).
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished second at this track in August, tagged the wall with the right rear during the session. He told his team on the radio: “Obviously, too loose.’'
The team unloaded its backup car but Fox Sports 1 reported that the team would repair its primary car, fearful that the final Cup practice session Saturday would get rained out and they wouldn’t get any laps in their backup car.
Most of the field ran in the bottom groove, which had been prepared to provide extra grip. Kyle Larson spent part of the session running high, trying to put rubber in that groove to make it better. Few others followed his lead. Larson spun and hit the wall with the right rear. His car had minor damage.
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