Coca-Cola 600 Final Practice

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Saturday, May 25 11:05 am ET

50 minutes in length

Weather

85 degrees Air Temp I 113 degrees Track Temp I Wind at 5 mph

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized for this session

Top-20 Speeds (single lap)

PosCarDriverMakeDeltaLapsLast LapBest TimeBest SpeedBest Lap
141Daniel SuarezFord--51130.20829.883180.7054
28Daniel Hemric #Chevy0.0032773.90529.886180.6873
311Denny HamlinToyota0.02552177.77829.908180.5546
447Ryan Preece #Chevy0.03946123.68629.922180.4692
518Kyle BuschToyota0.07146177.65529.954180.2769
620Erik JonesToyota0.084689.42629.963180.2229
73Austin DillonChevy0.11113178.26529.994180.0366
821Paul MenardFord0.15541177.06130.038179.7726
924William ByronChevy0.1648176.01630.043179.7427
1014Clint BowyerFord0.17847129.16830.061179.6355
1119Martin Truex JrToyota0.18730177.90730.07179.5815
1242Kyle LarsonChevy0.19747175.60430.08179.5214
1338David RaganFord0.20443124.33830.087179.484
1410Aric AlmirolaFord0.21659124.78630.099179.4083
1522Joey LoganoFord0.22242176.26930.105179.3725
162Brad KeselowskiFord0.22440177.07830.107179.366
174Kevin HarvickFord0.23741177.13630.12179.28326
189Chase ElliottChevy0.24362126.31330.126179.24741
1988Alex BowmanChevy0.26142176.58630.144179.1429
2037Chris BuescherChevy0.2747175.98730.153179.0874

Best Lap Averages

 

Items of Note:

  • The track temp is up 30 degrees from morning practice and it will be possible that the track temps will be similar to this at the start of the race.
  • Ryan Newman opted to repair the primary car instead of going to a backup car but his car was too loose in this practice and will need to be adjusted prior to the race.
  • Aric Almirola is looking for longer run speed than what they’ve shown so far. He wants some more balance in the car and is planning on a 40-lap run this practice.
  • Joey Logano is planning on two long runs and has about 47 laps to play with on the engine in this session. He feels pretty good about the car so far but is still looking for better balance.
  • Daniel Suarez is still looking for better balance in the car as the car swung extremely tight on him in the first practice and he wants more speed in the car too.
  • Early in the practice session Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, and Denny Hamlin are all in the top-five of best 15-lap average metric including the first three being in the top-three.
  • Chase Elliott’s car looks better this practice but still has a long way to go with speed and balance.
  • Austin Dillon is done with practice with 32 minutes left in practice because he felt comfortable with his car and had a bit of a lap limit on the engine. He raced behind other cars in this session and felt good in traffic as well.
  • Brad Keselowski is still a bit on the free side. Made one lap and then came to the garage for quick adjustments but is still fighting free.
  • Ryan Blaney is unsure about his car in terms of balance and speed after just one long-run in practice to this point.
  • Jimmie Johnson got very loose in Turn 3 in the middle of a long run with 20 minutes to go in the session.
  • Aric Almirola and Joey Logano got very close to each other and the air made them loose but no contact was actually made between the two.
  • Kyle Busch is first in five lap, 10 lap, 15 lap, 20 lap averages with eight minutes to go and was second in those categories in the first Saturday practice.
  • Paul Menard was racing with some others in a single-file pack late in practice and was able to hang in with the bigger teams as they were on long runs.
  • Alex Bowman says his car is driving really well at this point but he doesn’t have a lot of speed but he likes it that way for a long race.
  • Bubba Wallace’s car went from 98 degrees in the car to 119 in the car at the end of practice.
  • Daniel Suarez is happier with his car and feels like they found something for long run speed for the race over 25+ laps.

Through Final Practice

Practice to qualifying table:

DriverPrac to QualQualComb. PracPrac 3 10-lapPrac 3Prac 2 10-lapPrac 2Prac 1
William Byron-1211310919233
Aric Almirola-92112214131315
Kyle Busch13215624
Austin Dillon-14527138
Kevin Harvick-1151613175527
Daniel Suarez363618114
Joey Logano-117182115121421
Clint Bowyer187910979
Ricky Stenhouse Jr-12921232228286
Daniel Hemric910132391
Kurt Busch-61117162471616
DriverPrac to QualQualComb. PracPrac 3 10-lapPrac 3Prac 2 10-lapPrac 2Prac 1
Chase Elliott3129171817152
Alex Bowman-21315151916227
Martin Truex Jr6148711 810
Jimmie Johnson1151425254115
Erik Jones1016656111011
Paul Menard-5172288181925
Ryan Newman-818262428272119
Ryan Blaney91910112114417
Denny Hamlin16204432612
Brad Keselowski221191416101822
DriverPrac to QualQualComb. PracPrac 3 10-lapPrac 3Prac 2 10-lapPrac 2Prac 1
Chris Buescher222202020202713
Michael McDowell-623292626242930
Ryan Preece122412294 2018
Kyle Larson225231212262523
Matt Tifft-426302830 3028
Matt DiBenedetto027271823152424
Ty Dillon028283031 1220
Bubba Wallace529242727231726
Corey LaJoie-43034  223135
David Ragan631251913212629
DriverPrac to QualQualComb. PracPrac 3 10-lapPrac 3Prac 2 10-lapPrac 2Prac 1
Landon Cassill-132333132253432
Bayley Currey-23335   3536
Parker Kligerman334313229 3231
Ross Chastain33532   3333
BJ McLeod03636   3634
Reed Sorenson-13738  293938
Cody Ware13837   3837
Quin Houff03939   3739
Joey Gase04040   4040

 

Coca-Cola 600 Second Practice

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Saturday, May 25 8:35 am ET

50 minutes in length

Weather

76 degrees and feels like 93 degrees with a light breeze of 4 mph

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized in this session

Top-20 Speeds (single lap)

PosCarDriverMakeDeltaLapsLast LapBest TimeBest SpeedBest Lap
141Daniel SuarezFord--49127.71429.647182.1434
218Kyle BuschToyota0.0245179.8229.662182.05135
33Austin DillonChevy0.1148178.28829.754181.48832
412Ryan BlaneyFord0.1227177.22929.769181.3975
54Kevin HarvickFord0.1335178.73729.774181.3666
611Denny HamlinToyota0.1352129.34129.78181.336
714Clint BowyerFord0.1643175.99329.803181.196
819Martin Truex JrToyota0.1628179.97629.81181.14710
98Daniel Hemric #Chevy0.1746175.79329.814181.12325
1020Erik JonesToyota0.1734162.80829.82181.08725
1148Jimmie JohnsonChevy0.1942172.26529.834181.0026
1213Ty DillonChevy0.1926178.56629.836180.9893
1310Aric AlmirolaFord0.2150127.61729.855180.8744
1422Joey LoganoFord0.2243125.87429.862180.83228
159Chase ElliottChevy0.2248121.27529.867180.80236
161Kurt BuschChevy0.2543176.02229.898180.61427
1743Bubba WallaceChevy0.2841174.44129.925180.4514
182Brad KeselowskiFord0.2848177.63229.93180.42131
1921Paul MenardFord0.343794.70929.983180.10222
2047Ryan Preece #Chevy0.3433166.37429.989180.0664

Best Lap Averages

Items of Note:

  • Most cars are working on getting the cars feeling comfortable to drive in this session since the race is 4.5 hours long.
  • Several drivers are taking their time getting on the track in race trim since they are waiting for the ARCA tire rubber to be worn off the track by the other drivers first.
  • Kurt Busch likes his car but he is looking for more speed in the car right now
  • Chase Elliott is feeling pretty confident in the car they have brought this weekend and they know they have found something in this package that they hadn’t prior in the season.
  • William Byron has yet to be on track in this session with 20 minutes already elapsed.
  • Austin Dillon ran a 21-lap run and came back saying it is the best car he’s had at Charlotte in his career. He is working on pit road speed at this point.
  • Erik Jones wanted to start with a different setup in the car based on what they learned in the All-Star race trying to find more long-run speed. They are trying to make sure the day/night switch that happened last week is accounted for this weekend.
  • The cars have added AC units and air blowers into the cockpit since qualifying in order to give the drivers a bit of creature comforts in the heat and length of the race.
  • Ryan Blaney said his goal in this session is to set the car up for the second half of the race and he thinks the car is driving good, but almost too good. The next session he will focus on the first half of the race.
  • Brad Keselowski was hoping to find a comfortable balance in this first practice and then compare it to the second practice on Saturday but they are still missing some speed in the car.
  • Chase Elliott is not happy with his car and they have made a ton of changes to the car including swapping out shocks with five minutes left in the session.
  • Kyle Larson has run 31 laps this session and is 25th in single lap speed and doesn’t show up in any of the long run speed metrics.
  • Seven drivers have won both the All-Star race and the Coke 600 in the same season with the most recent being Kurt Busch in 2010.
  • William Byron thinks his car is okay at this point but there are some things they need to work on like handling in traffic.
  • Ryan Newman got into the wall at the very end of practice and has damage to the right side of his car that might be more than just some scuffed paint.
  • Chris Buescher liked the adjustments they made to his car throughout the session and he managed to climb a bit up the speed charts after those adjustments but he still needed more help getting over the bumps in Turn 3.

Coca-Cola 600 Opening Practice

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Thursday, May 23 2:35 pm ET

50 minutes in length

Weather

82-degree Air temp I 114-degree Track temp I SW winds at 9 mph

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized for this session

Top-20 Speeds (single lap)

PosCarDriverMakeDeltaLapsLast LapBest TimeBest SpeedBest Lap
18Daniel Hemric #Chevy--8182.79129.542182.7918
29Chase ElliottChevy0.078181.9929.615182.345
324William ByronChevy0.098181.51329.636182.2115
418Kyle BuschToyota0.18181.7229.643182.1682
548Jimmie JohnsonChevy0.137181.34229.669182.0081
617Ricky Stenhouse JrFord0.138181.00829.671181.9962
788Alex BowmanChevy0.1410181.92229.683181.92210
83Austin DillonChevy0.158181.89229.688181.8928
914Clint BowyerFord0.158180.89229.693181.8615
1019Martin Truex JrToyota0.157181.86129.693181.8617
1120Erik JonesToyota0.1911167.76429.728181.6472
1211Denny HamlinToyota0.1910177.61429.729181.6414
1337Chris BuescherChevy0.2111181.51929.749181.51911
1441Daniel SuarezFord0.2111181.51329.75181.51311
1510Aric AlmirolaFord0.228179.93429.761181.4462
161Kurt BuschChevy0.238181.40329.768181.4038
1712Ryan BlaneyFord0.2410178.4329.781181.3242
1847Ryan Preece #Chevy0.278181.16529.807181.1658
196Ryan NewmanFord0.3213180.6229.858180.8567
2013Ty DillonChevy0.3714180.54829.909180.54814

Best Lap Averages

Landon Cassill was the only driver to run 10-consecutive laps

Items of Note:

  • Most drivers are focusing strictly on qualifying in this session since qualifying is tonight and the other practices aren’t until Saturday.
  • The track will be quite different for qualifying than it is now in the middle of the afternoon in the sunshine.
  • Denny Hamlin’s Crew Chief expects there to be a lot of white knuckling in this practice as they learn exactly how they can trim the car out to qualify well.
  • Ryan Newman has made a few mock qualifying runs this session and he’s not very happy with his car overall.
  • Kyle Larson nearly lost the car in the center of Turns 3 & 4
  • Kevin Harvick bottomed out in the middle of the corner and the car drifted up the track but no damage occurred
  • Jimmie Johnson said his car felt good until it didn’t and then it went loose in a big way and the throttle has also been sticking a bit and not coming back to his foot when he let’s off of it.
  • Ryan Blaney’s car looks like it is sitting straight on the track and it is bouncing all over the place. He abandoned his mock qualifying lap to bring it back to the garage for major adjustments.
  • Kevin Harvick had yet to complete a lap at speed with eight minutes left in practice. He was the last car in the field to make a lap at speed in this session.
  • Daniel Hemric’s fastest lap of the practice tops on the chart, came with just five minutes left in the session and was very close to the pole time he ran for the Monster Energy Open last weekend.
  • Kyle Larson said he had to lift nearly every lap which he didn’t like and said he needs adjustments made to the grip and handling so he doesn’t have to lift off the throttle.
  • Daniel Hemric says his car feels faster this week than it did last week when he was on the pole for the Open.
  • A bunch of drivers have continually had issues in Turns 3&4 all practice long with cars getting loose in that corner.