JOLIET, Illinois – Kyle Busch put some icing on his pole position for Sunday’s Tale of the Turtles, being fastest in the final NASCAR Cup practice session Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway.
Busch covered the 1.5-mile oval with a speed of 180.252 mph, nearly one mph more than second-fastest Austin Dillon (179.438 mph).
Third through 10th were Brad Keselowski (179.289), Chase Elliott (179.134), Clint Bowyer (178.542), Kevin Harvick (178.359), Denny Hamlin (178.312), points leader and defending Chicagoland race winner Martin Truex Jr. (177.871), Joey Logano (177.643) and Ryan Blaney (177.515).
Of the 16 drivers in the NASCAR Cup playoffs, eight were in the top 10 and 12 were in the top 17. Four playoff drivers that struggled for speed were Kurt Busch (22nd, 176.016 mph), Matt Kenseth (23rd, 175.793), defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (24th, 175.701) and Kasey Kahne (27th, 174.803).
Only 36 of the 40 qualified drivers took to the track for the final practice.
Click here for the full final practice speed grid.