Photo Credit: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images for NASCAR
At the end of the final practice for the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, it’d be Kurt Busch topping the charts with a lap of 19.502 seconds. Busch won this event last year and enters this race coming off of a pair of top-five finishes.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were second and third, respectively. They’re both looking for their ninth career victory at Martinsville Speedway. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman would round out the top-five.
Kasey Kahne was sixth quickest, followed by Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. Biffle would make slight contact with the wall as a result of a spin during the session, but his Roush Fenway Racing team was able to fix it.
Alex Bowman also ran into problems during the session, losing power and slowly crawling to the garage. They also began their first bits of close quarter racing, running four-wide at one point, while Austin Dillon and Danica Patrick made contact going into Turn 3 after battling hard for the past couple laps in practice.
2015 NSCS STP 500 Final Practice Session Speeds
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Haas Automation Chevrolet | 19.502 | 97.098 | 9 | 69 | —.— | —.— |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe’s Chevrolet | 19.56 | 96.81 | 12 | 62 | -0.058 | -0.058 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Axalta Chevrolet | 19.577 | 96.726 | 11 | 65 | -0.075 | -0.017 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express Toyota | 19.592 | 96.652 | 34 | 50 | -0.09 | -0.015 |
| 5 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Quicken Loans Chevrolet | 19.603 | 96.598 | 10 | 52 | -0.101 | -0.011 |
| 6 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet | 19.609 | 96.568 | 51 | 71 | -0.107 | -0.006 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 19.631 | 96.46 | 8 | 94 | -0.129 | -0.022 |
| 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet | 19.632 | 96.455 | 40 | 81 | -0.13 | -0.001 |
| 9 | 19 | Carl Edwards | ARRIS Toyota | 19.633 | 96.45 | 54 | 62 | -0.131 | -0.001 |
| 10 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ortho Ford | 19.649 | 96.371 | 11 | 44 | -0.147 | -0.016 |
| 11 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Dollar General Toyota | 19.659 | 96.322 | 34 | 52 | -0.157 | -0.01 |
| 12 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row/Visser PrecisionChevrolet | 19.666 | 96.288 | 29 | 39 | -0.164 | -0.007 |
| 13 | 10 | Danica Patrick | TaxAct Chevrolet | 19.675 | 96.244 | 16 | 50 | -0.173 | -0.009 |
| 14 | 13 | Casey Mears | GEICO Chevrolet | 19.676 | 96.239 | 12 | 57 | -0.174 | -0.001 |
| 15 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Miller Lite Ford | 19.685 | 96.195 | 11 | 65 | -0.183 | -0.009 |
| 16 | 98 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing Ford | 19.701 | 96.117 | 8 | 35 | -0.199 | -0.016 |
| 17 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Bush’s Beans Chevrolet | 19.703 | 96.107 | 36 | 60 | -0.201 | -0.002 |
| 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet | 19.704 | 96.102 | 11 | 67 | -0.202 | -0.001 |
| 19 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet | 19.725 | 96 | 39 | 65 | -0.223 | -0.021 |
| 20 | 43 | Aric Almirola | STP Ford | 19.735 | 95.951 | 7 | 56 | -0.233 | -0.01 |
| 21 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target Chevrolet | 19.736 | 95.947 | 52 | 67 | -0.234 | -0.001 |
| 22 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Fastenal Ford | 19.739 | 95.932 | 8 | 37 | -0.237 | -0.003 |
| 23 | 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Medallion Bank/Mercury Marine Ford | 19.741 | 95.922 | 8 | 39 | -0.239 | -0.002 |
| 24 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Cheerios Chevrolet | 19.741 | 95.922 | 4 | 53 | -0.239 | 0 |
| 25 | 18 | David Ragan | M&M’s Crispy Toyota | 19.75 | 95.879 | 4 | 69 | -0.248 | -0.009 |
| 26 | 27 | Paul Menard | Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet | 19.76 | 95.83 | 7 | 72 | -0.258 | -0.01 |
| 27 | 25 | Chase Elliott(i) | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 19.769 | 95.786 | 35 | 60 | -0.267 | -0.009 |
| 28 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Cessna Chevrolet | 19.77 | 95.782 | 13 | 60 | -0.268 | -0.001 |
| 29 | 55 | Brett Moffitt # | Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota | 19.788 | 95.694 | 50 | 74 | -0.286 | -0.018 |
| 30 | 51 | Justin Allgaier | Fraternal Order of Eagles/Switch HitchChevrolet | 19.814 | 95.569 | 14 | 61 | -0.312 | -0.026 |
| 31 | 40 | Landon Cassill(i) | Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet | 19.816 | 95.559 | 8 | 41 | -0.314 | -0.002 |
| 32 | 7 | Alex Bowman | Nikko RC/Toy State Car Chevrolet | 19.823 | 95.525 | 27 | 42 | -0.321 | -0.007 |
| 33 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | AdvoCare Ford | 19.864 | 95.328 | 39 | 47 | -0.362 | -0.041 |
| 34 | 46 | Michael Annett | Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet | 19.871 | 95.295 | 7 | 56 | -0.369 | -0.007 |
| 35 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 5-Hour Energy Toyota | 19.916 | 95.079 | 20 | 33 | -0.414 | -0.045 |
| 36 | 38 | David Gilliland | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | 19.918 | 95.07 | 34 | 53 | -0.416 | -0.002 |
| 37 | 32 | Mike Bliss(i) | CorvetteParts.net Ford | 19.923 | 95.046 | 8 | 46 | -0.421 | -0.005 |
| 38 | 26 | Jeb Burton # | Maxim.com Toyota | 19.961 | 94.865 | 7 | 26 | -0.459 | -0.038 |
| 39 | 34 | Chris Buescher(i) | A&W All American Food Ford | 19.963 | 94.856 | 43 | 54 | -0.461 | -0.002 |
| 40 | 35 | Cole Whitt | Ford | 19.987 | 94.742 | 13 | 31 | -0.485 | -0.024 |
| 41 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Dr. Pepper Toyota | 20.093 | 94.242 | 9 | 45 | -0.591 | -0.106 |
| 42 | 33 | Alex Kennedy # | Dream Factory Chevrolet | 20.133 | 94.055 | 6 | 41 | -0.631 | -0.04 |
| 43 | 23 | JJ Yeley(i) | American Cancer Society Toyota | 20.157 | 93.943 | 6 | 38 | -0.655 | -0.024 |
(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie
Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCARMedia/NASCAR Statistics
RT @OnPitRoad_: NSCS: Kurt Busch Leads Final STP 500 Practice at Martinsville Speedway by @ladybug388 http://t.co/MPRVHYSp7J