Through Qualifying
The MO columns are momentum related to the table in the track breakdown.
Final Practice for Bluegreen Vacations 500
ISM Raceway (Phoenix)
Friday, November 8th 7:05 pm ET
50 minutes in length
Weather
87 degrees with winds at 8 mph
Penalized Drivers
No drivers were penalized in this session
Top-20 Speeds (Single lap)
Best Lap Averages
Items of Note:
- Kyle Busch is hoping to win his third straight race at Phoenix having won the playoff race here last year and the race in March.
- Joey Logano nearly ran into to Corey Lajoie five minutes into practice as he was a lot faster than Logano in Turn 2.
- Jimmie Johnson said his car still isn’t as responsive as he wants it to be and the rear of the car feels on top of the track and the main problem is corner off as he’s trying to get into the throttle.
- Kyle Larson said the car gets too tight on the long run and they are working on that in this final session.
- The temps are cooler this session than the first in terms of track temps and the lights are on as the track is all in the shade. Cars should be tighter and not rolling the center of the corner as well as they were in the first session.
- Chase Elliott started in Q trim.
- William Byron thinks the car is on the splitter and the ride height isn’t as good as it was in the first session and it’s not handling quite as well in this one so far.
- Alex Bowman said he’s getting free into Turn 1 and he loses front steering in the center of the corner as the car feels looser.
- Kurt Busch is saying his front end won’t turn when the tires are cold and not warmed up.
- Halfway through the session, Chase Elliott is sixth in five-lap average and seventh in 10-lap average without his qualifying run factored in.
- Martin Truex Jr. and his team are the most relaxed in the garage from those reporting from the garage area. He has a small team with them at the track and the Car Chief will leave and head back to the shop after inspection to continue working on the Homestead car.
- Ryan Blaney started the practice with a qualifying run and now has been on a 40+-lap race run that’s taken up most of the session.
- A lot of drivers are doing pit road speed tests since pit road is still different to them following the track reconfiguration.
- The last half the practice was run under the lights with the sun setting or down which changes the way the track runs.
Opening Practice for Bluegreen Vacations 500
ISM Raceway (Phoenix)
Friday, November 8th 4:05 pm ET
50 minutes in length
Weather
87 degrees with winds at 8 mph
Penalized Drivers
Austin Dillon (15 minutes at the end of practice)
Jimmie Johnson (15 minutes at the end of practice)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (15 minutes at the end of practice)
Top-20 Speeds (Single lap)
Best Lap Averages
Items of Note:
- There is speedy dry on the track in Turns 1 & 2 following Xfinity practice due to some cars that had issues.
- There is also PJ1 on the track in all four corners though it’s a higher line in Turns 3 & 4 than it is in Turns 1 & 2 and it seems to be out of the racing groove the cars will use in the second set of corners.
- Kyle Busch seems to be a bit loose at the start of the session on corner exit.
- Joey Logano was also driving around Kyle Busch on the track and appears to be about as loose as Busch is.
- The fastest line in the first set of corners is to put the tire a tire width below the yellow line on entry and in the second set they are hugging the yellow line as much as possible while the cars getting into the rubbered up area are struggling on corner exit.
- Chase Elliott likes the turn that’s in his car early in the session and liked the line he could drive.
- Kyle Larson set in his car using his spotter to see what the fastest lines around the track were before going out on his first run of the session and then went to the top of the speed chart.
- Ryan Blaney is second quickest on the speed charts 15 minutes into practice.
- Jimmie Johnson said his front end feels like it was trying to dig in a bit on corner entry in Turn 1 and there’s almost too much grip.
- Several drivers are complaining of the car getting loose on corner entry.
- Kurt Busch is saying the back end of his car is tight and he just can’t make the speed the others can.
- Alex Bowman said the throttle doesn’t really make things worse but overall he’s not helpful with how his car feels in the turns as he said he doesn’t feel like he can lean into anything in corners.
- William Byron said his car is still inconsistent on entry and throughout the corner after a few different adjustments.
- Denny Hamlin says his car is getting tighter as it runs though it’s still overall a bit free.
- Kurt Busch is saying the sun and the shade are changing how the car handles in that the car gets loose in the shade in Turns 3 & 4.
- Kyle Larson is leading the single lap, five-lap, and 10-lap averages with 10 minutes left.
- Alex Bowman says the car gets tighter over the run and says the right rear tire is the one that really feels tight.
- Several drivers ended practice with mock qualifying laps and pit road work.
- Ryan Blaney’s car was a bit loose in the braking zones late in the session as the back of the car was slipping all over the place.