NASCAR Cup Series practice results from Bristol Motor Speedway
The high banked .533-mile concrete oval is set to host the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Two rounds of practice will lead into a qualifying round later today.
View 2018 Bristol practice speeds below.
Bristol Menu: MENCS
TV | Prac 1 | Prac 2 | Qual | Race
It’s an hour and twenty minute practice session. Most teams will be focused on long race runs in this opening round of practice.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr has now rush to get on the track. His crew chief is under the impression that the teams don’t have enough tires for how much practice time they have. He’s not the only one.
“It feels like you’re at a dirt track, parked on the infield,” Stenhouse tells NBC Sports as he sits on top of his hauler.
17 minutes into the session, Alex Bowman is the first car on the race track. He turns a 15.653. That’s slower than Xfinity practice. That just tells you why most teams are waiting for the track to be cleaned off.
45 minutes in, Chase Elliott sits at the top of the board with a 15.151.
Many drivers are exploring the top lane already. The trackbite applied to the bottom is narrower than it was back in March. Most cars don’t have their right sides in it at all. That makes the bottom slower than April, it will also allows the top of come in quicker.
Alex Bowman had a moment. He turned in for the corner and the back end continued to rotate through the center. That rotation is good for corner exit speed at Bristol. Too much and you have to chase the backend up the track. Same thing just happened for Larson.
The right rear isn’t in the trackbite. Teams might have to adjust their baselines as last year the right rear was more into the race track with the trackbite application being two feet wider in April.
As practice comes to a close, Larson is right against the wall. He’s second on the board. More and more cars are using lane three on the race track. The bottom won’t be as strong this weekend.
Chase Elliott holds on to win the opening round of practice at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The MENCS will race on Saturday night. Qualifying is set for later this afternoon.
View full 2018 Bristol Motor Speedway practice times below.
Bristol Motor Speedway
Practice Times
August 17, 2018
Practice 1: 10:35am
Pos | Driver | Best Time
1. Chase Elliott
15.151
2. Kyle Larson
15.191
3. Alex Bowman
15.193
4. Erik Jones
15.206
5. Ryan Blaney
15.211
6. Joey Logano
15.215
7. Kyle Busch
15.236
8. Kurt Busch
15.239
9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
15.243
10. Denny Hamlin
15.246
11. Ryan Newman
15.259
12. Daniel Suarez
15.282
13. William Byron
15.302
14. Aric Almirola
15.306
15. Kevin Harvick
15.314
16. Paul Menard
15.322
17. Martin Truex Jr
15.322
18. Jamie McMurray
15.332
19. Trevor Bayne
15.338
20. Brad Keselowski
15.342
21. Austin Dillon
15.349
22. Jimmie Johnson
15.360
23. Clint Bowyer
15.373
24.David Ragan
15.379
25. Chris Buescher
15.391
26. Kasey Kahne
15.395
27. AJ Allmendinger
15.401
28. Michael McDowell
15.455
29. Bubba Wallace
15.469
30. Ross Chastain
15.500
31. BJ McLeod
15.522
32. Ty Dillon
15.581
33. Blake Jones
15.590
34. Matt DiBenedetto
15.656
35. Corey LaJoie
15.676
36. Jesse Little
15.697
37. Landon Cassill
15.729
38. Gray Gaulding
15.848
39. JJ Yaley
15.925
40. Timmy Hill
15.985
41. Reed Sorenson
16.011
Bristol Motor Speedway
10-lap averages
August 17, 2018
Practice 1: 10:35am
Pos | Driver | Average Speed | Laps
1. Martin Truex Jr
123.290 | 18-27
2. Kyle Busch
123.180 | 28-37
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
123.008 | 28-37
4. Denny Hamlin
122.880 | 31-40
5. Brad Keselowski
122.846 | 20-29
6. Kyle Larson
122.676 | 20-29
7. Kurt Busch
122.584 | 13-22
8. Trevor Bayne
122.387 | 22-31
9. Jamie McMurray
122.010 | 28-37
10. Chase Elliott
121.920 | 29-38
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Related: Bristol Truck Race Results – August 16, 2018