Qualifying Notes
Saturday, July 27 4:05 pm ET
Single-car qualifying in groups of three spaced 15 seconds apart
One timed lap
Notes
- William Byron went out in the first group and had the Pole spot for the first several groups
- Kyle Busch got loose a couple of times in the warm-up and timed lap.
- Bubba Wallace will start from the rear but be counted from where he qualified due to the engine change.
- Aric Almirola’s qualifying time was .7 seconds faster than his combined practice time from the first two sessions.
- Kevin Harvick did not make a mock qualifying run in practice and stayed in race trim the whole way.
- Chase Elliott used the apron in the Tunnel Turn quite a bit to help turn the car. He’s in a back-up car for the race.
- Harvick has been on the pole once before in his 38 races at Pocono but forfeited it with a failed inspection.
- The pole time was a full second faster than the 21st position in the grid.
Practice To Qualifying Table
**Updated after NINE cars failed tech inspection**
There are some additional columns in it this week to provide even more information for you.
Final Practice for Gander RV 400
Pocono Raceway
Saturday, July 27 11:05 am ET
50 minutes in length
Weather
79 degrees Air Temp I Feels Like 81 degrees I Wind at 9 mph I 56% Humidity
Penalized Drivers
No drivers were penalized this session
Top-20 Speeds (single-lap)
Best Lap Averages
Items of Note:
- Before the start of the session, Ryan Newman wanted to know from his Crew Chief what they had done to free up the car in Turn 3 between practice.
- Chase Elliott has been under the hood of the 9-car trying to pitch in any way he can getting the back-up car on the track.
- Aric Almirola went out in Q-trim for the first couple of laps of the run.
- After a few laps, Newman said his car is tight off in Turn 1 and still tight in Turn 3 but not quite as tight.
- A lot of drivers are doing mock qualifying runs to start the session.
- Jimmie Johnson is dealing with a bumpy and loose car at the moment and feels that he can’t get to the bottom groove of the track.
- Joey Logano had his car step out on him on the straight between Turns 1 & 2 but he was able to save it. He’s now driving behind Denny Hamlin to see what his car is missing, and Hamlin drove away from him.
- Denny Hamlin pulled to the pits a few laps later and said he liked that his car could driver deeper and wider into the corners than before.
- Daniel Suarez is still entering shallower into the turns than most drivers on track and they will work on pit road speed coming up. They want him to be a touch wider into Turn 1.
- Joey Logano is on an 18-lap run but has now started to use the traction compound in Turn 1 and Turn 3. He’s the first one to use the PJ1 today.
- Austin Dillon said his car was worse on his last run out than his previous runs. All of the turns were worse.
- Clint Bowyer is on a race trim run with 25 minutes left in the session and his car looks pretty comfortable on track.
- Jimmie Johnson was happy with the balance in the car throughout the lap 30-minutes into the session after being a touch loose 10 minutes in to practice.
- Ryan Blaney is asking for the team to make his car a bit smoother over the Tunnel Turn and a bit less tight in Turn 1 but overall he’s happy with the car.
- Bubba Wallace is having to replace the engine in the 43-car due to an issue that cropped up in between sessions. He will have to try and get it ready for qualifying but expect the car to be in race trim for qualifying.
- Daniel Suarez was loose in Turn 1 and saved it but had been complaining that he was loose in Turn 1 to begin and he’s coming to pit road.
- Late into the session, Kyle Larson finally made a run on the track in the back-up car. His first lap was a 53.92 and his spotter said if he has a feel for the changes needed bring it to them and they can make a change. He said the car is just loose and right when he gets in the throttle he tends to over-rotate.
- Chase Elliott was able to make a few laps before the end of the session but says his left front feels high or his right rear is low but he doesn’t have any splitter contact. The shifter nob is a bit loose as well. He too is in a back-up car.
- Clint Bowyer is trying to get an idea of how he stacks up speed-wise against the field in the last few minutes of the session and did a pit road test to make sure they’re lights are all set.
- Austin Dillon had his car feeling better late in the session and is just working on the Tunnel turn to dial it in.
- William Byron loved his setup through the session but did have a tiny power steering issue crop up late in the session but still put up the best 10-lap average in this practice.
- The tires seem to get faster the more laps are on a run which is interesting and the track has taken quite a bit of rubber.
First Practice for Gander RV 400
Pocono Raceway
Saturday, July 27 9:05 am ET
50 minutes in length
Weather
69 degrees Air Temp I Wind at 4 mph I 76% Humidity
Penalized Drivers
No drivers were penalized in this session
Top-20 Speeds (single-lap)
Best Lap Averages
Items of Note:
- The PJ1 traction compound is out on the outer grooves of the turns but several crew chiefs believe that no one will drive in until possibly race time.
- There are groups of two cars sticking together single-file through multiple laps with Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick in one group and Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones in another.
- Very early in practice, Matt DiBenedetto looks like the best car in the first corner and is P2 on the speed charts in single-lap speeds.
- Kyle Larson crashed in the Tunnel Turn (Turn 2) and hit the wall hard twice on the right side as he the outside wall then spun across the track to the inside wall. He is immediately getting the back-up car out.
- There was a red flag following the Larson crash to clean the track and it lasted about 10 minutes.
- Kyle Busch got a bit loose in the middle of Turn 3 with 30 minutes left in the session but overall he looks very smooth throughout the lap and is able to carry the speed deep into the corners.
- The temps are going to be hotter this weekend than they were at the June race which will change a bit of the racing.
- Halfway through practice, Erik Jones and Clint Bowyer lead the single lap speeds.
- Jimmie Johnson is having issues in the Tunnel Turn as it bottoms out a bit there. He is struggling with the car in corner entry and getting to the bottom of the track.
- Chase Elliott got into the SAFR barrier in Turn 1 and the right side is crushed in. As he got back up to throttle the car kicked out coming out of the corner. He is going to a back-up car as well as he said “we’re killed” on the radio.
- Corey LaJoie also got into the wall in Turn 2 and tagged the right side of the car. They are in the garage trying to fix it up as it was lighter hit and they also are a much smaller organization than the others involved in crashes.
- Brad Keselowski has a big moment in Turn 3 where he got loose and saved it and it turns out it was a power steering issue in the 2-car that is being worked on at the moment.