Kyle Larson continues to be the driver at the top of the leaderboard on NASCAR’s Fast Friday.
This time it was at Pocono Raceway as Larson paced the first and only practice session of the day for the Axalta presents the Pocono 400. The defending winner of the Xfinity Series race at Pocono, Larson’s lap of 177.312mph put him ahead of Kyle Busch, who is working without suspended crew chief Adam Stevens, at 177.235mph.
Matt Kenseth was third fastest at 176.939mph with Kevin Harvick fourth at 176.588mph and Joey Logano fifth fastest at 176.564mph. Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, was sixth fastest at 176.170mph.
Ryan Blaney (175.613mph), Jamie McMurray (175.380mph), Paul Menard (175.357mph) and Jimmie Johnson (175.271 mph) rounded out the top 10.
There were no on-track incidents in the 1 hour, 25-minute session. However, two drivers did have mechanical issues.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed eight laps but told his team over the radio the car became stuck in third gear and then downshifted to second. In doing so, his Hendrick Motorsport team believe it damaged the engine, which they opted to change. As a result, Earnhardt will have to start at the rear of the field Sunday.
Update on practice: I blew the motor up. Went into 2nd gear (was aiming for 4th) and grenaded it. Will have to start last Sunday.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 9, 2017
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Martin Truex Jr.’s team had to switch the power steering pump on his Toyota during the session. Truex ended the session 12th fastest.
Making his Cup Series debut, Darrell Wallace Jr. was 19th fastest in his first practice session driving the No. 43 Ford. Wallace spent the session acclimating to the car as well as learning to shift at Pocono.
“I’m jacked up right now, this is a very cool opportunity and very I’m thankful for it,” Wallace said during the session. “Man, a lot of fun. I thought it would be a little bit bigger of a transition. The speeds are not too crazy; I guess we’ll find out when I jump into my Xfinity car and try to barrel it off in [the corners] and mess up, but hopefully not.
“Our Smithfield Fusion is OK. We’re a little bit tight, just trying to get a little bit turn off the exit of the corner and create some straightaway speed, but I’m trying to figure these cars out. It’s a lot of fun a very cool opportunity, but at the same time we’re hoping Aric [Almirola] gets back very quick and heals 100 percent. But in the meantime, I’m going to try and do the best I can for you bud. It’s a lot of fun, cool experience. I’m driving a Cup car, it’s awesome.”
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