How about this for a surprise?
Justin Haley, driving the No. 7 Nations Guard Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, topped the speed charts in Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice ahead of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The Winamac, Indiana-native was a part of the first group of drivers to hit the racetrack, which in this instance, was the quicker group. Ryan Blaney was second-fastest, with Carson Hocevar, Brad Keselowski, and Michael McDowell inside the top-five.
Four of the top-five drivers in practice were non-playoff drivers, including all three teammates from Spire Motorsports.
Chase Briscoe was sixth, Denny Hamlin seventh, Chase Elliott eighth, Ty Gibbs ninth, and Ross Chastain rounding out the top-10.
Other drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs that were not inside the top-10 in practice, include: Christopher Bell (P12), Bubba Wallace (P13), Alex Bowman (P16), Austin Cindric (P17), William Byron (P25), Kyle Larson (P27), Shane Van Gisbergen (P29), Austin Dillon (P30), Joey Logano (P31), Tyler Reddick (P34), and Josh Berry (P38).
PRACTICE RESULTS:
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Time | Diff | Speed | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports NationsGuard Chevrolet | 15.307 | 125.354 | 78 | |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Menards / Sylvania Ford | 15.307 | 0.000 | 125.354 | 84 |
| 3 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Delaware Life Chevrolet | 15.309 | 0.002 | 125.338 | 58 |
| 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing Castrol / TA Centers of America Ford | 15.312 | 0.005 | 125.313 | 51 |
| 5 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports Gainbridge Chevrolet | 15.313 | 0.006 | 125.305 | 48 |
| 6 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 15.328 | 0.021 | 125.183 | 72 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing King's Hawaiian Toyota | 15.347 | 0.040 | 125.028 | 68 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 15.358 | 0.051 | 124.938 | 51 |
| 9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 15.364 | 0.057 | 124.889 | 84 |
| 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Moose Fraternity Chevrolet | 15.397 | 0.090 | 124.622 | 64 |
| 11 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 15.401 | 0.094 | 124.589 | 61 |
| 12 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing DEWALT Toyota | 15.402 | 0.095 | 124.581 | 69 |
| 13 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing Robinhood Toyota | 15.406 | 0.099 | 124.549 | 45 |
| 14 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing Kroger / SToK Ford | 15.419 | 0.112 | 124.444 | 67 |
| 15 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 15.435 | 0.128 | 124.315 | 38 |
| 16 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Racing Open Road Sweepstakes Chevrolet | 15.436 | 0.129 | 124.307 | 46 |
| 17 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Discount Tire Ford | 15.448 | 0.141 | 124.210 | 72 |
| 18 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports Long John Silver's Ford | 15.458 | 0.151 | 124.130 | 56 |
| 19 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team HaasTooling.com Ford | 15.471 | 0.164 | 124.026 | 49 |
| 20 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Grizzly Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet | 15.481 | 0.174 | 123.945 | 52 |
| 21 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports Rush Truck Centers Ford | 15.481 | 0.174 | 123.945 | 56 |
| 22 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Love's Travel Stops Ford | 15.492 | 0.185 | 123.857 | 23 |
| 23 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 15.496 | 0.189 | 123.826 | 60 |
| 24 | 67 | Corey Heim | 23XI Racing Robinhood Toyota | 15.525 | 0.218 | 123.594 | 45 |
| 25 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Raptor Coatings Chevrolet | 15.537 | 0.230 | 123.499 | 60 |
| 26 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Freeway Insurance Chevrolet | 15.545 | 0.238 | 123.435 | 62 |
| 27 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 15.570 | 0.263 | 123.237 | 58 |
| 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | HYAK Motorsports NOS Energy Chevrolet | 15.583 | 0.276 | 123.134 | 60 |
| 29 | 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing Wendy's Breakfast Baconator Chevrolet | 15.583 | 0.276 | 123.134 | 47 |
| 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops / Winchester Chevrolet | 15.584 | 0.277 | 123.126 | 65 |
| 31 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford | 15.601 | 0.294 | 122.992 | 65 |
| 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | 15.615 | 0.308 | 122.882 | 50 |
| 33 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Fastenal Ford | 15.626 | 0.319 | 122.795 | 58 |
| 34 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing Pinnacle Toyota | 15.636 | 0.329 | 122.717 | 71 |
| 35 | 33 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing United States Chevrolet | 15.676 | 0.369 | 122.404 | 53 |
| 36 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing Lucas Oil Chevrolet | 15.679 | 0.372 | 122.380 | 40 |
| 37 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing Arby's Ford | 15.696 | 0.389 | 122.248 | 42 |
| 38 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford | 15.709 | 0.402 | 122.147 | 63 |
| 39 | 66 | Chad Finchum | Garage 66 Barger Precast Ford | 15.870 | 0.563 | 120.907 | 39 |
