Dale Earnhardt Jr topped the charts today in the first practice session for the Coca Cola 600. Junior was the only driver to post a sub 28 second lap time with a posted lap of 27.91 equaling 193.479mph. Track conditions today were much different that last Saturday’s All-Star Race. While track conditions were cool last week, it was the hottest day on record thus far in 2014 in the Charlotte area. Needless to say the track was slick and speeds were down for Thursday’s practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Still all of the guys we mentioned in our newsletter this week showed some solid speed. Junior who was listed 16.5 to 1 and Hamlin who was listed 21.5 to 1, both finishes inside the Top 10 in the Thursday’s practice. Last week’s Sprint All-Star Race winner Jamie McMurray (58 to 1), ended the session in the 24th fastest lap. Two of the big favorites for this Sunday’s Coca Cola 600 in Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson finished 2nd and 3rd on the charts. As a reminder qualifying is scheduled to start tonight at 7:10pm (EST).
| Pos |
No. |
Driver |
Make |
Time |
Speed (mph) |
Lap # |
# Laps |
| 1 |
88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet |
27.941 |
193.264 |
1 |
7 |
| 2 |
4 |
Kevin Harvick |
Chevrolet |
28.101 |
192.164 |
7 |
7 |
| 3 |
48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet |
28.123 |
192.014 |
1 |
8 |
| 4 |
17 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
Ford |
28.157 |
191.782 |
7 |
7 |
| 5 |
78 |
Martin Truex |
Chevrolet |
28.158 |
191.775 |
19 |
19 |
| 6 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
28.173 |
191.673 |
1 |
5 |
| 7 |
27 |
Paul Menard |
Chevrolet |
28.266 |
191.042 |
16 |
16 |
| 8 |
41 |
Kurt Busch |
Chevrolet |
28.266 |
191.042 |
20 |
22 |
| 9 |
10 |
Danica Patrick |
Chevrolet |
28.302 |
190.799 |
7 |
9 |
| 10 |
99 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
28.335 |
190.577 |
1 |
7 |
| 11 |
15 |
Clint Bowyer |
Toyota |
28.349 |
190.483 |
9 |
9 |
| 12 |
55 |
Brian Vickers |
Toyota |
28.371 |
190.335 |
3 |
9 |
| 13 |
14 |
Tony Stewart |
Chevrolet |
28.383 |
190.255 |
16 |
19 |
| 14 |
42 |
Kyle Larson # |
Chevrolet |
28.407 |
190.094 |
18 |
18 |
| 15 |
9 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford |
28.426 |
189.967 |
9 |
9 |
| 16 |
5 |
Kasey Kahne |
Chevrolet |
28.438 |
189.887 |
9 |
9 |
| 17 |
31 |
Ryan Newman |
Chevrolet |
28.458 |
189.753 |
8 |
8 |
| 18 |
33 |
Brian Scott(i) |
Chevrolet |
28.466 |
189.7 |
18 |
18 |
| 19 |
22 |
Joey Logano |
Ford |
28.475 |
189.64 |
20 |
22 |
| 20 |
20 |
Matt Kenseth |
Toyota |
28.483 |
189.587 |
16 |
16 |
| 21 |
2 |
Brad Keselowski |
Ford |
28.496 |
189.5 |
25 |
25 |
| 22 |
3 |
Austin Dillon # |
Chevrolet |
28.5 |
189.474 |
1 |
11 |
| 23 |
11 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
28.505 |
189.44 |
7 |
7 |
| 24 |
1 |
Jamie McMurray |
Chevrolet |
28.538 |
189.221 |
9 |
9 |
| 25 |
21 |
Trevor Bayne(i) |
Ford |
28.542 |
189.195 |
11 |
11 |
| 26 |
47 |
AJ Allmendinger |
Chevrolet |
28.563 |
189.056 |
7 |
7 |
| 27 |
24 |
Jeff Gordon |
Chevrolet |
28.569 |
189.016 |
1 |
7 |
| 28 |
51 |
Justin Allgaier # |
Chevrolet |
28.609 |
188.752 |
25 |
27 |
| 29 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
28.617 |
188.699 |
8 |
10 |
| 30 |
43 |
Aric Almirola |
Ford |
28.662 |
188.403 |
7 |
7 |
| 31 |
95 |
Michael McDowell |
Ford |
28.69 |
188.219 |
9 |
9 |
| 32 |
38 |
David Gilliland |
Ford |
28.711 |
188.081 |
10 |
10 |
| 33 |
13 |
Casey Mears |
Chevrolet |
28.733 |
187.937 |
18 |
18 |
| 34 |
98 |
Josh Wise |
Chevrolet |
28.765 |
187.728 |
5 |
5 |
| 35 |
44 |
JJ Yeley(i) |
Chevrolet |
28.785 |
187.598 |
9 |
9 |
| 36 |
83 |
Ryan Truex # |
Toyota |
28.801 |
187.493 |
7 |
7 |
| 37 |
23 |
Alex Bowman # |
Toyota |
28.857 |
187.13 |
7 |
11 |
| 38 |
34 |
David Ragan |
Ford |
28.911 |
186.78 |
12 |
16 |
| 39 |
77 |
Dave Blaney |
Ford |
28.958 |
186.477 |
9 |
9 |
| 40 |
36 |
Reed Sorenson |
Chevrolet |
28.973 |
186.38 |
4 |
4 |
| 41 |
26 |
Cole Whitt # |
Toyota |
28.983 |
186.316 |
8 |
8 |
| 42 |
40 |
Landon Cassill(i) |
Chevrolet |
29.055 |
185.854 |
14 |
14 |
| 43 |
66 |
Joe Nemechek(i) |
Toyota |
29.055 |
185.854 |
7 |
7 |
| 44 |
32 |
Blake Koch(i) |
Ford |
29.464 |
183.275 |
10 |
10 |
| 45 |
7 |
Michael Annett # |
Chevrolet |
29.521 |
182.921 |
7 |
7 |
