During the Playoffs, there was always some level of chatter about whether Team Penske could make its typical late-season push to advance to Phoenix, a track they’ve been lights-out at in recent years.
Well, in what appears to be a case of deja vu, a victory at Martinsville Speedway locked defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney into the Championship 4, and the 30-year-old driver has brought some real speed to Phoenix.
RESULTS: NASCAR Cup Series Practice from Phoenix
About halfway through Friday’s 50-minute practice session, Blaney, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, went onto the racetrack with fresh Goodyear tires and rocketed to the top of the speed charts, posting a time of 27.174 seconds (132.480mph).
That lap of record put Blaney three one-hundreds of a second ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex, Jr., who will contest his final event as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver in Sunday’s 312-lap contest from Phoenix.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was third-fastest in the practice session, just ahead of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who was second-best of the four championship contenders for Sunday’s event.
Byron, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, clocked in about a tenth of a second behind Blaney, the session leader. Austin Cindric, a teammate of Blaney’s at Team Penske, was fifth-quickest in the session.
Corey LaJoie put down a solid lap to clock in sixth place for Rick Ware Racing and the No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse team. Ty Gibbs and Denny Hamlin, both eliminated from the post-season, clocked in seventh and eighth.
In eighth place, Joey Logano was third-fastest among the four Championship 4 drivers, just 0.150 seconds off his teammate in the No. 12. Chase Briscoe rounded out the top-10.
The slowest of the four NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs drivers was Tyler Reddick, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing — co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. Reddick ranked 21st-quickest on single-lap pace, 0.350 seconds behind.
While somebody analyzing these practice results from Friday would concede that single-run speed isn’t the name of the game, especially at a track like Phoenix Raceway, that’s not the only thing that Ryan Blaney and Team Penske have on their side.
Blaney, in addition to being fastest in single-lap speed, was best on the 5-lap, 10-lap, and 15-lap averages. The Menards-sponsored entry did not contest a 20-lap run during the session, so no data points can be taken from that long of a run.
Championship 4 – Lap Average:
1-Lap: #12 Blaney (P1), #24 Byron (P4), #22 Logano (P9), #45 Reddick (P21)
5-Lap: #12 Blaney (P1), #24 Byron (P9), #22 Logano (P10), #45 Reddick (P19)
10-Lap: #12 Blaney (P1), #22 Logano (P2), #24 Byron (P5), #45 Reddick (P10)
15-Lap: #12 Blaney (P1), #24 Byron (P3), #22 Logano (P4), #45 Reddick (P11)
20-Lap: #22 Logano (P2), #12 Blaney (N/A), #24 Byron (N/A), #45 Reddick (N/A)
With 40 drivers on the entry list for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, no drivers will be sent packing early. Jeb Burton, making his NextGen debut in the No. 50 for Team AmeriVet, was slowest in practice.
Qualifying for Sunday’s 312-lap event at Phoenix Raceway will take place on Saturday, November 9 at 5:05 PM ET. Coverage will be on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Coverage for Sunday’s event at Phoenix will take place on November 10 at 3:00 PM ET on NBC, Peacock, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
