Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Texas Motor Speedway treated Erik Jones well last year with his first career victory, and so far this year he’s off to a strong start.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver would lead the first practice with a lap of 28.882 seconds. Jones has been quick thus far this year, posting three top-fives in five races.
He would be followed by a pair of Richard Childress Racing teammates Ty Dillon and Brandon Jones. Dillon has two top-10s in five previous starts, while Jones is making his first trip to Texas. Jones currently sits fourth in points with three top-10s.
Current points leader Daniel Suarez was fourth quickest as he looks to improve upon his sixth place finish last season, with Brennan Poole rounding out the top-five. Poole has been solid so far, currently sitting 10th in points.
Jeb Burton was sixth quickest, followed by Fontana winner Austin Dillon, Ryan Sieg, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series gets one more practice today, before qualifying and racing on Friday.
| POS | DRIVER | LAPS | FAST SPEED | FAST TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | #20 Erik Jones | 16 | 186.968 | 28.882 | Leader |
| 2 | #3 Ty Dillon | 3 | 183.968 | 29.353 | 0.471 |
| 3 | #33 Brandon Jones | 28 | 183.175 | 29.480 | 0.598 |
| 4 | #19 Daniel Suarez | 13 | 182.865 | 29.530 | 0.648 |
| 5 | #48 Brennan Poole | 20 | 181.837 | 29.697 | 0.815 |
| 6 | #43 Jeb Burton | 3 | 181.837 | 29.697 | 0.815 |
| 7 | #2 Austin Dillon | 2 | 181.769 | 29.708 | 0.826 |
| 8 | #39 Ryan Sieg | 22 | 181.622 | 29.732 | 0.850 |
| 9 | #18 Kyle Busch | 12 | 181.574 | 29.740 | 0.858 |
| 10 | #98 Aric Almirola | 5 | 180.874 | 29.855 | 0.973 |
| 11 | #16 Ryan Reed | 6 | 180.427 | 29.929 | 1.047 |
| 12 | #42 Kyle Larson | 9 | 180.379 | 29.937 | 1.055 |
| 13 | #6 Darrell Wallace Jr. | 9 | 180.258 | 29.957 | 1.075 |
| 14 | #22 Brad Keselowski | 16 | 179.898 | 30.017 | 1.135 |
| 15 | #1 Elliott Sadler | 5 | 179.653 | 30.058 | 1.176 |
| 16 | #1 Ryan Preece | 17 | 179.647 | 30.059 | 1.177 |
| 17 | #5 Chase Elliott | 16 | 179.408 | 30.099 | 1.217 |
| 18 | #4 Ross Chastain | 8 | 179.360 | 30.107 | 1.225 |
| 19 | #7 Justin Allgaier | 10 | 178.867 | 30.190 | 1.308 |
| 20 | #62 Brendan Gaughan | 10 | 178.784 | 30.204 | 1.322 |
| 21 | #44 David Starr | 23 | 178.743 | 30.211 | 1.329 |
| 22 | #14 J.J. Yeley | 12 | 178.701 | 30.218 | 1.336 |
| 23 | #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 9 | 178.548 | 30.244 | 1.362 |
| 24 | #28 Dakoda Armstrong | 17 | 178.489 | 30.254 | 1.372 |
| 25 | #51 Jeremy Clements | 6 | 178.412 | 30.267 | 1.385 |
| 26 | #0 Garrett Smithley | 9 | 177.895 | 30.355 | 1.473 |
| 27 | #7 Ray Black Jr. | 18 | 175.058 | 30.847 | 1.965 |
| 28 | #90 Martin Roy | 9 | 173.594 | 31.107 | 2.225 |
| 29 | #24 Matt Tifft | 11 | 172.018 | 31.392 | 2.510 |
| 30 | #13 Matt DiBenedetto | 2 | 170.589 | 31.655 | 2.773 |
| 31 | #52 Joey Gase | 8 | 170.385 | 31.693 | 2.811 |
| 32 | #78 B.J. McLeod | 5 | 169.859 | 31.791 | 2.909 |
| 33 | #25 John Jackson | 3 | 167.276 | 32.282 | 3.400 |
| 34 | #15 Cody Ware | 4 | 163.384 | 33.051 | 4.169 |
| 35 | #40 Carl Long | 1 | 161.112 | 33.517 | 4.635 |
| 36 | #70 Derrike Cope | 1 | 4.313 | 1251.955 | 1223.073 |
