Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports clearly have the car to beat at Sonoma Raceway.
While there’s a solid chance that could be said about either the NASCAR Cup Series or NASCAR Xfinity Series this weekend, the Hendrick Motorsports driver set a blistering pace in practice for Saturday’s DoorDash 250.
In his second Xfinity Series event of the season, Larson posted a lap of 79.255 seconds (90.392mph) in Friday’s 50-minute practice session, holding a one-second advantage over the field, with second-place Sheldon Creed putting down an 80.435-second lap.
AJ Allmendinger, another full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, posted the third-quickest lap in practice on Friday, while Cole Custer and Ty Gibbs completed the top five at the 1.99-mile road course.
Parker Kligerman was the third-best of the series regulars in practice on Friday, clocking in sixth place. Aric Almirola showed up seventh on the speed charts, driving the No. 28 for RSS Racing. Austin Hill, Ross Chastain, and Daniel Hemric completed the top-10.
Daniel Suarez, joining SS GreenLight Racing for this weekend’s event at Sonoma Raceway, clocked in 16th overall, while the other NASCAR Cup Series driver to take to the track for extra experience, Ty Dillon, clocked in 33rd in the No. 4 for JD Motorsports.
Anthony Alfredo posted the 25th-quickest time in the session on Friday, but will have to unload a backup car for Saturday’s event at Sonoma, after the throttle hung on his No. 78 Dude Wipes Chevrolet, sending him hard into the turn one barrier.
While Alfredo was the only driver to sustain major damage in Friday’s 50-minute practice session – which was extended due to extensive cleanup – Jeb Burton and Josh Berry were among the other drivers to run into trouble throughout the issue.
Burton clocked in 31st overall in the session, while Berry was able to return to the track and take 14th on the speed charts.
PRACTICE RESULTS:
Practice Results: 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Door Dash 250 at Sonoma
