Kenseth Leads Roush Fenway Power Play During Brickyard 400 Practice
July 29, 2011 | By Paul Kelly
Matt Kenseth was the fastest driver overall on the opening day of practice Friday, July 29 for the Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com, turning a top lap of 181.203 mph in the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford.
Kenseth was one of three Roush Fenway Racing Fords among the top five overall. Teammates Carl Edwards and David Ragan were fourth and fifth, respectively.
“Our first lap on the racetrack was our fastest lap today,” Kenseth said. “Unfortunately, it's been kind of downhill since then. We really struggled in race trim with the Crown Royal car and have some work to do before Sunday.”
All five of the top speeds were turned in the first practice, when teams worked on qualifying setups on the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kasey Kahne was second at 181.178 in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, followed by Denny Hamlin at 181.050 in the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota. Edwards was fourth at 180.658 in the No. 99 Ortho Home Defense Max Ford, with Ragan rounding out the top five at 180.404 in the No. 6 UPS/Hall of Fame/Ned Jarrett Ford.
Pole qualifying is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. (ET) Saturday, with final practice from 10-11:30 a.m. The Brickyard 400 presented by Big Machine Records.com is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kenseth dropped to 29th in the second session, when teams worked on race setups in 92-degree air temperature. But Roush Fenway continued its power play as Greg Biffle was fastest at 178.310 in the No. 16 Red Cross Ford.
“We have a chance at a front-row start,” Biffle said. “Our cars (Roush Fenway Racing) are running good, and they are all fast.”
Defending Brickyard 400 champion Jamie McMurray was eighth overall with a top lap of 179.634 during the first practice in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet.
Four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon was ninth overall at 179.519 in the first practice in the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet.
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2011 Brickyard 400 tickets: Tickets are on sale for the 2011 Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 31 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Race Day ticket prices start at just $30. Fans can buy tickets online at www.imstix.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or by visiting the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.
Children 12 and under will receive free general admission to any IMS event in 2011 when accompanied by an adult general admission ticket holder.
Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.