Phoenix Raceway, as it turns out, had some pretty interesting tricks up its sleeve to throw NASCAR Cup Series teams for a loop on Friday.
In one of the most important practice sessions of the campaign, focus quickly shifted for the Championship 4 drivers and teams, from getting their cars set up perfectly to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, to just keeping their left-rear tires inflated long enough to get a read on the car’s handling.
Nobody seemed to be immune to these tire issues, either, with (at least) seven different drivers having issues throughout the 50-minute practice session, the most notable of which was Championship 4 driver Chase Briscoe, who told Motor Racing Network (MRN) after practice that he was moments away from a THIRD tire issue.
Riley Herbst, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, and Daniel Suarez were among the other drivers who faced issues during the session. However, the most severe was Allmendinger, who wasn’t able to get his No. 16 CELSIUS Chevrolet back to the pits in time, crashing hard into the Turn 4 SAFER Barrier.
PRACTICE RESULTS: NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Practice Results
With all of that being said, it ended up being Ty Gibbs, teammate to Championship 4 contenders Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe, who ended up topping Friday’s 50-minute practice from Phoenix Raceway, laying down a lap of 27.300 seconds (131.868mph).
Still in search of his first career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, Gibbs was able to launch his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE to the top of the speed charts near the tail-end of the session, by nearly a tenth of a second over his closest competitor in the session.
Team Penske once again showed their continued strength at Phoenix Raceway, with Ryan Blaney clocking in second and Austin Cindric sitting in third for the overall lap times in practice. However, none of Penske’s three drivers are competing for a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, ending a three-year streak of consecutive titles.
Coming off a strong run at Martinsville Speedway last weekend, Ryan Preece impressed again, sitting fourth in the practice session. Denny Hamlin was the furthest forward of the Championship 4 drivers, rounding out the top five in the practice.
Chase Elliott was sixth quickest, with Ross Chastain in seventh, and Josh Berry in eighth. William Byron was the second-fastest of the four drivers in the Championship 4, sitting in ninth. Christopher Bell rounded out the top-10.
Kyle Larson was 11th fastest in the practice session, and Chase Briscoe was the worst of the four drivers, in 16th. However, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team is on the back foot heading to qualifying, having run significantly fewer laps in practice than their competitors, due to the ongoing tire issues.
Qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway will take place on Saturday, November 1 at 5:00 PM ET on TruTV. Coverage of the event will take place the following afternoon, Sunday, November 2 at 3:00 PM ET on NBC.
