Hamlin Posts Fastest Time in NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice at IMS

Denny Hamlin drove his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota to the fastest lap of the day at 182.208 mph during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval.

Hamlin posted the day’s quickest speed during the first of three Sprint Cup practice sessions today at IMS in preparation for the 22nd annual Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday.  

The second-fastest time of the day came from 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Kurt Busch in the third practice session, 181.987 mph in the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.

Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and four-time Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson turned the third-fastest lap at 181.796 mph during the first practice session, in his No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet to the fastest speed of the second practice session with a lap of 181.466 mph, and five-time Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon posted his fastest speed of the day of 181.444 mph in his No. 24 3M Chevrolet during the first practice session.

2013 Lilly Diabetes 250 winner Kyle Busch was fastest overall after two NASCAR XFINITY Series practice sessions with a top lap speed of 178.717 mph in the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota. Posting the second-fastest speed of 177.845 mph was 2011 Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard winner Paul Menard in the No. 33 Richmond/Menards Chevrolet. Daniel Suarez produced the third-fastest speed, 176.810 mph in the No. 18 ARRIS Toyota. 

NASCAR action at IMS will resume on Saturday with XFINITY Series qualifying beginning at 11:35 a.m., and Sprint Cup qualifying at 1:45 p.m. for the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard taking place at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. The NASCAR XFINITY Series will race in the Lilly Diabetes 250 on Saturday when the green flag waves at 3:50 p.m. 

Due to the new high-drag aerodynamic package on Sprint Cup Series cars, Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard qualifying has been modified to a two-round format. Each car will post a time for one lap in the first round, with the 12 fastest cars advancing to a second round, where one more one-lap run will be used to determine the polesitter.