NASCAR DFS: Quaker State 400 Practice Notes

Through Qualifying

Final Practice for Quaker State 400

Kentucky Speedway

Friday, July 12 1:30 pm ET

50 minutes in length

Weather

83 degrees Air Temp I 44% Humidity I Sunny

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized this session

Top-20 Speeds (Single Lap)

Best Lap Averages

Items of Note:

• The drivers rolled out a bit more spread out in this practice than the first one as they try and see how their cars are handling the track without traffic.
• Ryan Preece was out of the throttle some in Turns 1 & 2 which is concerning since that’s the easier corner and he subsequently went to the garage for adjustments.
• Erik Jones had big trouble in Turn 3 early in the session as he came way off his line on entry and went up the track.
• Denny Hamlin said he “doesn’t like his car” then when asked if he had moved higher on the track he said “yes and I don’t like the car up high either”. They are in the garage making balance adjustments. Meanwhile, he was fifth on the speed charts at the time.
• The balance issues that several drivers are complaining about might change for the race since the race is under the lights and cooler than it is at either practice session.
• Jimmie Johnson ran his fastest lap of the session, with 38 minutes left to this point, in the middle groove all the way around the track. Then he went to the bottom groove and ran a slightly slower lap time.
• Joey Logano and his spotter took note of what Johnson was doing by driving the middle and how he was shaping the entrance into the corner.
• Chase Elliott got a bit loose in the second set of corners.
• Kurt Busch is trying something different this session and he likes the car for the most part. He said its fast as you know what but he feels it’s on the ragged edge all the time.
• Ryan Blaney had some issues with Turn 3 in practice just like several other drivers.
• Kyle Larson got very loose in the middle of Turns 1 & 2 while on full throttle and putting up the fifth best lap on the speed charts.
• Kevin Harvick is spending the last parts of his final practice run driving I the middle groove to see where his car is the best.
• Kyle Busch says his car is tight center off in traffic as he was driving behind Alex Bowman with five minutes to go.
• Denny Hamlin got very close to the wall on a mock qualifying run at the end of practice but didn’t make contact but wasn’t sure what caused him to lose the grip in Turns 1 & 2.
• Austin Dillon was happy with the balance in the car better than in the first practice and his spotter liked the lines he was running on the track.

Opening Practice for Quaker State 400

Kentucky Speedway

Friday, July 12 11:30 am ET

50 minutes in length

Weather

81 degrees Air Temp I 54% Humidity I Sunny

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized in this session

Top-20 Speeds (Single Lap)

Best Lap Averages

Items of Note:

• The track has sprayed PJ1 on the top half of the track in the four corners.
• Several teams are trying to figure out which lane is best to start the practice in since the Truck race on Thursday night showed one lane was better than the other.
• Martin Truex Jr. is fighting a car that is “hopping like a Kangaroo” early in the session and he couldn’t run smooth laps because of it.
• Kevin Harvick got really loose in the middle of Turn 3 at full throttle and he had to check up and then bring it to the garage for adjustments.
• Kyle Busch said his car is bouncy early in the run but it trims down a bit as the run continues, however he did say he has to guard against the entry on the track because of the bounciness or balance meaning he has to go in a bit straighter than he wants to into the turns.
• About 20 minutes into the session the cars have started to drift a bit higher on the track and getting into the PJ1, though less in Turns 1 & 2, which is interesting.
• There have been several drivers taking the top spot on the speed charts in this session and different manufacturers as well.
• Alex Bowman said he doesn’t like the handling in the rear of his car right now and that he’s losing rear grip faster than his front is falling off and he doesn’t like how it comes off of Turn 4 as it’s getting tight.
• Daniel Suarez likes the speed he has in the car and said his car was really in the track during this first session.
• Ryan Blaney has spent most of the day near the tops of the chart but slid a bit late as others have been in Q-trim near you.
• Aric Almirola is at the top of the chart but was in qualifying trim with that lap as opposed to race trim.
• William Byron is doing pit road test runs at the very end of practice.
• Kurt Busch was in Q-trim for his fastest lap.
• Jimmie Johnson liked the adjustments they made on his car for the second run of the session as it got better to handle in traffic.
• David Ragan's car was a bit too tight for his liking about 25 minutes into the session and they will work on adjusting that.