Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael Waltrip pace first Sprint Cup practice at Talladega

By Jerry BonkowskiMay 1, 2015, 3:29 PM EDT

Fords and Toyotas dominated the first 10 positions in the first of two Sprint Cup practice sessions Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.

Four Fords, four Toyotas and just two Chevrolets made up the top 10 positions.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest, being one of three drivers to crack the 200 mph barrier at 200.780 mph.

Michael Waltrip was second-fastest at 200.742 mph, followed by Chris Buescher (200.268), Denny Hamlin (199.675), David Ragan (199.662), Danica Patrick (199.641), Kasey Kahne (199.621), Clint Bowyer (199.542), Trevor Bayne (199.467) and Michael McDowell (198.924).

The second Sprint Cup practice session of the day takes place at 4:30 pm ET.

Here’s how Friday’s first practice session played out:

1 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. … 200.780 mph … 32 laps

2 Michael Waltrip … 200.742 … 13 laps

3 Chris Buescher … 200.268 … 29 laps

4 Denny Hamlin … 199.675 … 33 laps

5 David Ragan … 199.662 … 28 laps

6 Danica Patrick … 199.641 … 21 laps

7 Kasey Kahne … 199.621 … 32 laps

8 Clint Bowyer … 199.542 … 17 laps

9 Trevor Bayne … 199.467 … 28 laps

10 Michael McDowell … 198.924 … 11 laps

11 AJ Allmendinger … 198.858 … 13 laps

12 Paul Menard … 198.837 … 31 laps

13 Carl Edwards … 198.808 … 20 laps

14 Brad Keselowski … 198.619 … 32 laps

15 Joey Logano … 198.610 … 27 laps

16 Dale Earnhardt Jr. … 198.240 … 32 laps

17 Kyle Larson … 198.134 … 28 laps

18 Tony Stewart … 198.101 … 26 laps

19 Jeff Gordon … 197.872 … 22 laps

20 Matt Kenseth … 197.594 … 22 laps

21 Michael Annett … 197.451 … 23 laps

22 Kurt Busch … 197.342 … 25 laps

23 Greg Biffle … 197.224 … 23 laps

24 David Gilliland … 197.191 … 22 laps

25 Ryan Blaney … 197.163 … 20 laps

26 Cole Whitt … 197.122 … 18 laps

27 Aric Almirola … 197.069 … 15 laps

28 Justin Allgaier … 197.045 … 23 laps

29 Jamie McMurray … 196.835 … 25 laps

30 Martin Truex Jr. … 197.798 … 14 laps

31 Kevin Harvick … 196.758 … 24 laps

32 Landon Cassill … 196.653 … 17 laps

33 Ryan Newman … 196.540 … 17 laps

34 Austin Dillon … 196.342 … 14 laps

35 Jimmie Johnson … 192.023 … 20 laps

36 Sam Hornish Jr. … 191.191 … 9 laps

37 Brian Scott … 190.810 … 12 laps

38 Josh Wise … 190.219 … 8 laps

39 Bobby Labonte … 189.740 … 12 laps

40 Alex Bowman … 189.646 … 6 laps

41 Casey Mears … 189.635 … 14 laps

42 JJ Yeley … 188.482 … 5 laps

43 Brendan Gaughan … 188.330 … 4 laps

44 Matt DiBenedetto … 187.141 … 2 laps

45 Jeb Burton … 187.024 … 12 laps

Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average:

1 David Ragan … 196.969

2 Kasey Kahne … 196.830

3 Carl Edwards … 196.642

4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. … 196.598

5 Jeff Gordon … 196.384

6 Joey Logano … 196.297

7 Kurt Busch … 196.098

8 Chris Buescher … 195.519

9 Greg Biffle … 195.467

10 Trevor Bayne … 195.417

11 Landon Cassill … 195.308

12 Paul Menard … 195.250

13 Justin Allgaier … 195.231

14 Michael McDowell … 194.985

15 Denny Hamlin … 193.516

16 Kyle Larson … 191.969

17 Michael Waltrip … 191.544

18 Ryan Blaney … 191.310

19 Ryan Newman … 191.225

20 Matt Kenseth … 188.560

21 Michael Annett … 184.424

22 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. … 184.240

23 Brad Keselowski … 183.838

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Alex Bowman confident as he returns to racing from back injury

By Mike HembreeMay 27, 2023, 4:57 PM EDT

CONCORD, N.C. — Alex Bowman watched the rain-filled skies over Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday with more than a touch of disappointment.

As weather threatened to cancel Saturday night’s scheduled NASCAR Cup Series practice at the speedway, Bowman saw his chances to testing his car — and his body — dissolving in the raindrops. NASCAR ultimately cancelled practice and qualifying because of rain.

MORE: Wet weather cancels Charlotte Cup practice, qualifying

Bowman suffered a fractured vertebra in a sprint car accident last month and has missed three Cup races while he recovers. Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, the season’s longest race, is scheduled to mark his return to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.

“It would have been really nice to kickstart that with practice today,” Bowman said. “I haven’t raced or competitively driven a race car in a month. I’m trying to understand where my rusty areas are going to be and where I’m still good.”

Bowman ran 200 laps in a test season at North Wilkesboro Speedway this week, but, of course, that doesn’t compare with the faster speeds and tougher G-forces he’ll experience over 400 laps Sunday at CMS.

Bowman admitted that he is still experiencing pain from the back injury — his car flipped several times — and that he expects some pain during the race. But he said he is confident he’ll be OK and that the longer race distance won’t be an issue.

“I broke my back a month ago, and there’s definitely things that come along with that for a long time,” he said. “I have some discomfort here and there and there are things I do that don’t feel good. That’s just part of it. It’s stuff I’ll have to deal with. But, for the most part, I’m back to normal.

“I’m easing back into being in the gym. I’m trying to be smart with things. If I twist the wrong way, sometimes it hurts. In the race car at the end of a six-hour race, I’m probably not going to be the best.”

The sprint car crash interrupted what had been a fine seasonal start for Bowman. Although winless, he had three top fives and six top 10s in the first 10 races.

“I’m excited to be back,” Bowman said. “Hopefully, we can pick up where we left off and be strong right out of the gate.”

He said he hopes to return to short-track racing but not in the near future.

“Someday I want to get back in a sprint car or midget,” he said. “I felt like we were just getting rolling in a sprint car. That night we were pretty fast. Definitely a bummer there. That’s something I really want to conquer and be competitive at in the World of Outlaws or High Limits races. Somebody I’ll get back to that. It’s probably smart if I give my day job a little alone time for a bit.”

Charlotte NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup: Rain cancels qualifying

By Mike HembreeMay 27, 2023, 4:30 PM EDT

CONCORD, N.C. — William Byron and Kevin Harvick will start Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the front row after wet weather cancelled Saturday night qualifying.

Rain pelted the CMS area much of the day Saturday, and NASCAR announced at 3:45 p.m. that Cup practice and qualifying, scheduled for Saturday night, had been cancelled.

MORE: Alex Bowman confident as he returns to cockpit

The starting field was set by the NASCAR rulebook.

Following Byron and Harvick in the starting top 10 will be Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The elimination of the practice session was particularly problematic for Alex Bowman, scheduled to return to racing Sunday after missing three weeks with a back injury, and Jimmie Johnson, who will be starting only his third race this year. Johnson will start 37th — last in the field.

Charlotte Cup starting lineup

Wet weather cancels Charlotte Cup Series practice, qualifying

By Mike HembreeMay 27, 2023, 4:11 PM EDT

CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR Cup Series drivers will start the longest race of the season with no practice or qualifying.

Wet weather and predictions of more to come led NASCAR to cancel Saturday night’s Cup Series practice and qualifying in mid-afternoon. The field for Sunday’s 600-mile race was set by the NASCAR rulebook, placing William Byron and Kevin Harvick on the front row for the scheduled 6 p.m. start.

MORE: Charlotte Cup starting lineup

MORE: Alex Bowman confident as he returns to cockpit

Weather also could be an issue Sunday as more rain is predicted for the speedway area.

Drivers were scheduled to practice at 7 p.m. Saturday. That session was to be followed by qualifying at 7:45 p.m. The cancellations were announced at 3:45 p.m.

The time-trial cancellation marked the first time in 64 years that qualifying has been canceled for the 600.

Charlotte Xfinity race postponed to Monday by weather

By Mike HembreeMay 27, 2023, 3:59 PM EDT

CONCORD, N.C. — Persistent rain forced the postponement of Saturday’s scheduled 300-mile NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Monday.

The race is scheduled to start at noon ET. It will be televised by FS1 and broadcast by the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Driver introductions and other pre-race activities were held at the track Saturday, but rain that had dampened the track in the morning hours returned. After several attempts at drying the track, the race was postponed after heavier rain returned in mid-afternoon.

Justin Allgaier will start the race from the pole position.

MORE: Wet weather cancels Charlotte Cup practice, qualifying

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