William Byron Fastest in Phoenix NASCAR Cup Opening Practice After Slapping Wall

William Byron slapped the wall in his No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE early in opening NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway, but by the end of the session, Byron was atop the speed charts.

Byron’s fast lap, which was a 26.747 sec. or 134.595 mph circuit, was turned in the final five minutes of the session.

Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott was second fastest in the No. 9 car.

Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five in the opening practice for Sunday’s Fan Shield 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

Corey LaJoie also slapped the wall in the session. LaJoie’s No. 32 Motor Trend Ford Mustang was 29th-fastest in practice.