Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
In the first practice ahead of the VisityMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway, it’d be Brian Scott topping the charts with a lap of 30.31 seconds.
Scott enters this weekend sitting eighth in points, searching for his first career series victory. Notably, Scott has only scored one top-10 and two top-fives in his nine previous Kentucky starts.
Richard Childress Racing would sweep the top-three spots in practice as Scott would be followed by teammates Ty Dillon and Brandon Jones. Dillon enters this weekend sitting second in points, 25 points behind Chris Buescher. He is coming off of a strong run at Chicagoland Speedway after finishing third. Jones, meanwhile, just announced today that he will drive full-time for RCR in the XFINITY Series in 2016. Jones has made four starts thus far this season, scoring a one top-10 with an eighth at Iowa Speedway in May.
Ryan Blaney was fourth quickest as he makes his 11th start of the season for Team Penske. In 11 previous starts thus far this season, Blaney has scored six top-fives and seven top-10s, including a victory at Iowa Speedway. Blaney has a win and three top-10s in four previous Kentucky starts. Daniel Suarez would round out the top-five as the rookie currently sits seventh in points searching for his first career victory.
Ben Rhodes was sixth fastest in his eighth start of the season for JR Motorsports, followed by JJ Yeley, Drew Herring, Brendan Gaughan and Elliott Sadler. Herring is practicing the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, but Erik Jones will be running the race on Saturday night, after running the UNOH 175 Camping World Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier in the day.
Notably, points leader Buescher was only 18th fastest in the practice. Chase Elliott, who enters this weekend sitting third, 28 points behind Buescher, was 19th fastest.
2015 NXS VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 First Practice Session Speeds
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Lap # | # Laps | -Fastest | -Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Brian Scott | Shore Lodge Chevrolet | 30.31 | 178.159 | 17 | 17 | —.— | —.— |
| 2 | 3 | Ty Dillon | WESCO Chevrolet | 30.433 | 177.439 | 13 | 13 | -0.123 | -0.123 |
| 3 | 33 | Brandon Jones(i) | Barrett-Jackson Waxes/Menards Chevrolet | 30.475 | 177.194 | 17 | 17 | -0.165 | -0.042 |
| 4 | 22 | Ryan Blaney | Discount Tire Ford | 30.536 | 176.84 | 14 | 14 | -0.226 | -0.061 |
| 5 | 18 | Daniel Suarez # | ARRIS Toyota | 30.541 | 176.811 | 19 | 20 | -0.231 | -0.005 |
| 6 | 88 | Ben Rhodes | Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet | 30.656 | 176.148 | 23 | 24 | -0.346 | -0.115 |
| 7 | 28 | JJ Yeley | JGL Racing Toyota | 30.677 | 176.028 | 1 | 17 | -0.367 | -0.021 |
| 8 | 54 | Drew Herring | Monster Energy Toyota | 30.801 | 175.319 | 14 | 14 | -0.491 | -0.124 |
| 9 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | South Point Chevrolet | 30.808 | 175.279 | 15 | 15 | -0.498 | -0.007 |
| 10 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial Ford | 30.815 | 175.239 | 18 | 18 | -0.505 | -0.007 |
| 11 | 7 | Regan Smith | TaxSlayer Bowl Chevrolet | 30.895 | 174.786 | 19 | 19 | -0.585 | -0.08 |
| 12 | 20 | Matt Tifft(i) | UNC Charlotte Toyota | 30.902 | 174.746 | 26 | 26 | -0.592 | -0.007 |
| 13 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | AllSouthElectric.com/RprblVhcls.com Chev | 30.905 | 174.729 | 1 | 2 | -0.595 | -0.003 |
| 14 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford | 30.953 | 174.458 | 24 | 24 | -0.643 | -0.048 |
| 15 | 42 | Brennan Poole | DC Solar Chevrolet | 30.976 | 174.329 | 18 | 19 | -0.666 | -0.023 |
| 16 | 43 | Dakoda Armstrong | WinField Ford | 30.986 | 174.272 | 23 | 23 | -0.676 | -0.01 |
| 17 | 6 | Darrell Wallace Jr | Bleacher Report Ford | 31.032 | 174.014 | 5 | 16 | -0.722 | -0.046 |
| 18 | 60 | Chris Buescher | AdvoCare Ford | 31.138 | 173.422 | 20 | 27 | -0.828 | -0.106 |
| 19 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 31.206 | 173.044 | 1 | 16 | -0.896 | -0.068 |
| 20 | 98 | Ryan Truex | Carroll Shelby Engine Company Ford | 31.454 | 171.679 | 12 | 24 | -1.144 | -0.248 |
| 21 | 4 | Ross Chastain | Protect Your Melon/watermelon.org Chevrolet | 31.57 | 171.048 | 5 | 17 | -1.26 | -0.116 |
| 22 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 31.649 | 170.622 | 12 | 28 | -1.339 | -0.079 |
| 23 | 26 | TJ Bell(i) | JGL Racing Toyota | 31.65 | 170.616 | 4 | 4 | -1.34 | -0.001 |
| 24 | 14 | Cale Conley # | IAVA Toyota | 31.763 | 170.009 | 12 | 27 | -1.453 | -0.113 |
| 25 | 1 | Michael Self | U Drive U Text U Pay Chevrolet | 31.896 | 169.3 | 14 | 29 | -1.586 | -0.133 |
| 26 | 44 | David Starr | Zachry Toyota | 31.941 | 169.062 | 6 | 10 | -1.631 | -0.045 |
| 27 | 8 | Blake Koch | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota | 31.967 | 168.924 | 8 | 8 | -1.657 | -0.026 |
| 28 | 0 | Harrison Rhodes # | teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet | 32 | 168.75 | 9 | 15 | -1.69 | -0.033 |
| 29 | 97 | Dylan Kwasniewski | Vroom Brands Chevrolet | 32.033 | 168.576 | 3 | 8 | -1.723 | -0.033 |
| 30 | 25 | Dylan Lupton | Zaxby’s Chevrolet | 32.144 | 167.994 | 16 | 40 | -1.834 | -0.111 |
| 31 | 24 | Eric McClure | Hefty Toyota | 32.175 | 167.832 | 7 | 18 | -1.865 | -0.031 |
| 32 | 70 | Derrike Cope | Buddy’s Home Furnishings/XClbrPtSchl Chev | 32.383 | 166.754 | 4 | 5 | -2.073 | -0.208 |
| 33 | 52 | Joey Gase | DB Sales Company Chevrolet | 32.457 | 166.374 | 12 | 12 | -2.147 | -0.074 |
| 34 | 90 | Martin Roy | Gamache Truck Center Chevrolet | 32.564 | 165.827 | 16 | 29 | -2.254 | -0.107 |
| 35 | 92 | Mario Gosselin | CrashClaimsR.us Chevrolet | 32.622 | 165.532 | 5 | 5 | -2.312 | -0.058 |
| 36 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet | 32.744 | 164.916 | 5 | 5 | -2.434 | -0.122 |
| 37 | 13 | Carl Long | Braille Battery/Grafoid Toyota | 32.829 | 164.489 | 5 | 5 | -2.519 | -0.085 |
| 38 | 40 | John Jackson, Jr. | Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge | 34.696 | 155.638 | 17 | 17 | -4.386 | -1.867 |
| 39 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Dodge | 35.43 | 152.413 | 2 | 2 | -5.12 | -0.734 |
| 40 | 19 | Jeff Green | Premier Barter Exchange Toyota | 47.025 | 114.833 | 1 | 1 | -16.715 | -11.595 |
(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie
