Photo Credit: David Yeazell
When you come to Martinsville, there’s three drivers that are always good – Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Those three would be at the top of charts on Saturday morning.
Hamlin would top the charts with a lap of 19.499 seconds as he searches for his fifth victory at the paperclip. With Chevrolet having swept the previous eight races, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry commented on Friday that it’d be huge for his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team to win.
“It would be (huge) and obviously it’s been said 1000 times about when the last Toyota win has been,” Hamlin said. “It’s been tough and it’s been a hard year for the organization and the manufacturer. Not that a win here would just satisfy all those needs – we still know that realistically we’ve got a lot of work to do, but it definitely would take a lot of pressure off because right now we’re all in that hornets’ nest of the bubble spot if this thing comes down to points.”
Jimmie Johnson was second quickest, 0.025 seconds off of Hamlin, ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne. Hamlin’s teammate Carl Edwards would round out the top-five.
Paul Menard was sixth, followed by Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Kevin Harvick. Defending race winner Kurt Busch was 12th.
2015 NSCS STP 500 Second Practice Session Speeds
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 19.499 | 97.113 | 35 | 53 | —.— | —.— |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe’s Chevrolet | 19.524 | 96.988 | 35 | 53 | -0.025 | -0.025 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Axalta Chevrolet | 19.545 | 96.884 | 43 | 64 | -0.046 | -0.021 |
| 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet | 19.559 | 96.815 | 10 | 63 | -0.06 | -0.014 |
| 5 | 19 | Carl Edwards | ARRIS Toyota | 19.58 | 96.711 | 8 | 58 | -0.081 | -0.021 |
| 6 | 27 | Paul Menard | Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet | 19.582 | 96.701 | 38 | 54 | -0.083 | -0.002 |
| 7 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Quicken Loans Chevrolet | 19.586 | 96.681 | 6 | 47 | -0.087 | -0.004 |
| 8 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target Chevrolet | 19.598 | 96.622 | 13 | 58 | -0.099 | -0.012 |
| 9 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet | 19.6 | 96.612 | 14 | 50 | -0.101 | -0.002 |
| 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet | 19.619 | 96.519 | 12 | 51 | -0.12 | -0.019 |
| 11 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite Ford | 19.625 | 96.489 | 16 | 67 | -0.126 | -0.006 |
| 12 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Haas Automation Chevrolet | 19.626 | 96.484 | 11 | 66 | -0.127 | -0.001 |
| 13 | 43 | Aric Almirola | STP Ford | 19.629 | 96.47 | 10 | 46 | -0.13 | -0.003 |
| 14 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Bush’s Beans Chevrolet | 19.647 | 96.381 | 11 | 37 | -0.148 | -0.018 |
| 15 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 19.654 | 96.347 | 41 | 48 | -0.155 | -0.007 |
| 16 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Dollar General Toyota | 19.656 | 96.337 | 6 | 44 | -0.157 | -0.002 |
| 17 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet | 19.659 | 96.322 | 16 | 67 | -0.16 | -0.003 |
| 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet | 19.689 | 96.176 | 38 | 59 | -0.19 | -0.03 |
| 19 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing Ford | 19.69 | 96.171 | 10 | 22 | -0.191 | -0.001 |
| 20 | 25 | Chase Elliott(i) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 19.691 | 96.166 | 19 | 64 | -0.192 | -0.001 |
| 21 | 55 | Brett Moffitt # | Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota | 19.694 | 96.151 | 27 | 73 | -0.195 | -0.003 |
| 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Cheerios Chevrolet | 19.699 | 96.127 | 10 | 63 | -0.2 | -0.005 |
| 23 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Cessna Chevrolet | 19.71 | 96.073 | 8 | 70 | -0.211 | -0.011 |
| 24 | 18 | David Ragan | M&M’s Crispy Toyota | 19.716 | 96.044 | 15 | 54 | -0.217 | -0.006 |
| 25 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Fraternal Order of Eagles/Switch Hitch Chevrolet | 19.737 | 95.942 | 11 | 40 | -0.238 | -0.021 |
| 26 | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Chevrolet | 19.744 | 95.908 | 38 | 48 | -0.245 | -0.007 |
| 27 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-Hour Energy Toyota | 19.753 | 95.864 | 21 | 43 | -0.254 | -0.009 |
| 28 | 10 | Danica Patrick | TaxAct Chevrolet | 19.774 | 95.762 | 47 | 62 | -0.275 | -0.021 |
| 29 | 38 | David Gilliland | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | 19.786 | 95.704 | 35 | 54 | -0.287 | -0.012 |
| 30 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fastenal Ford | 19.789 | 95.69 | 25 | 38 | -0.29 | -0.003 |
| 31 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Medallion Bank/Mercury Marine Ford | 19.793 | 95.67 | 5 | 31 | -0.294 | -0.004 |
| 32 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ortho Ford | 19.796 | 95.656 | 7 | 43 | -0.297 | -0.003 |
| 33 | 46 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet | 19.804 | 95.617 | 32 | 45 | -0.305 | -0.008 |
| 34 | 26 | Jeb Burton # | Maxim.com Toyota | 19.844 | 95.424 | 17 | 41 | -0.345 | -0.04 |
| 35 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Nikko RC/Toy State Car Chevrolet | 19.846 | 95.415 | 10 | 46 | -0.347 | -0.002 |
| 36 | 32 | Mike Bliss(i) | CorvetteParts.net Ford | 19.858 | 95.357 | 13 | 14 | -0.359 | -0.012 |
| 37 | 40 | Landon Cassill(i) | Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet | 19.867 | 95.314 | 22 | 39 | -0.368 | -0.009 |
| 38 | 34 | Chris Buescher(i) | A&W All American Food Ford | 19.907 | 95.122 | 7 | 45 | -0.408 | -0.04 |
| 39 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | AdvoCare Ford | 19.909 | 95.113 | 66 | 91 | -0.41 | -0.002 |
| 40 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 19.92 | 95.06 | 24 | 29 | -0.421 | -0.011 |
| 41 | 33 | Alex Kennedy # | Dream Factory Chevrolet | 20.036 | 94.51 | 13 | 43 | -0.537 | -0.116 |
| 42 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Dr. Pepper Toyota | 20.103 | 94.195 | 8 | 24 | -0.604 | -0.067 |
| 43 | 23 | JJ Yeley(i) | American Cancer Society Toyota | 20.131 | 94.064 | 7 | 39 | -0.632 | -0.028 |
(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie
Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCARMedia/NASCAR Statistics
RT @OnPitRoad_: NSCS: Denny Hamlin Leads STP 500 Saturday Morning Practice by @ladybug388 http://t.co/Q8zMG5Ba1Z