Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
In the first practice ahead of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it’d be Carl Edwards topping the charts with a lap of 27.823 seconds as Joe Gibbs Racing looks to score their 10th victory in 12 races.
Edwards, who is one of the 16 drivers chasing after the championship, finished the first race of the Chase in the second spot to enter this weekend sitting third in the series standings. Edwards’ fought adversity last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway as he had a pit road speeding penalty early in the race. While he led practice on Friday, he hasn’t done well at New Hampshire in the past with only six top-10s in 22 starts.
Jimmie Johnson was second quickest as he enters this weekend sitting seventh in points following an 11th place finish at Chicagoland. Johnson knows how to get around the magic mile, having visited victory lane on three different occasions. 2014 Spring race winner Brad Keselowski was third quickest as he enters the weekend sitting ninth in points following a eighth place finish at Chicagoland. Non-Chaser contender Kyle Larson was fourth, followed by chase contender Kurt Busch. Busch enters the weekend sitting sixth in the standings.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sixth quickest as he enters the weekend sitting 10th in points, only 10 points ahead of the coveted 13th spot following a 12th place finish at Chicagoland Speedway. Following next weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway, drivers ranked 13th thru 16th will be eliminated from the Chase. Jamie McMurray, who currently sits 13th in points only three points out of the top-12 behind Jeff Gordon, was seventh quickest in practice. Gordon was eighth quickest, followed by non-Chaser A.J. Allmendinger and Matt Kenseth. Kenseth enters the weekend leading the points following a fifth at Chicagoland Speedway.
Kevin Harvick, who enters this weekend 22 points out of the top-12 following a 42nd place finish at Chicagoland Speedway, was 11th quickest in practice.
The rest of the Chase Contenders go as follows:
- Joey Logano was 13th quickest. He enters this weekend sitting fifth in points.
- Kyle Busch was 14th quickest. He enters this weekend sitting fourth in the standings
- Martin Truex Jr. was 15th quickest. He enters this weekend sitting 11th in the standings, seven points to the good.
- Denny Hamlin, who is locked in for round two virtue of winning at Chicagoland Speedway, was 16th quickest
- Ryan Newman was 18th quickest. He enters this weekend sitting eighth in points.
- Paul Menard was 22nd quickest. He enters this weekend sitting 14th in points, four points behind 12th.
- Clint Bowyer was 26th quickest. He enters this weekend sitting 16th in points, 41 points behind 12th following his penalty.
The Sprint Cup Series will return to the track at 4:45 pm EST for qualifying, with a pair of practices scheduled for Saturday before the race on Sunday.
