Chastain Paces Pennzoil 250 Practice Heading Into Qualifying, Race Saturday
Christopher Bell led practice Friday for the Brickyard 400 presented by PPG, turning a top lap of 183.512 mph in the No. 20 Rheem Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bell (photo, top), who spent Thursday evening as a TV analyst for the USAC Sprint Car race at The Dirt Track at IMS, led a pack of five Toyota drivers – all from Joe Gibbs Racing and Legacy Motor Club – at the top of the speed charts after the 50-minute session on the historic 2.5-mile oval.
John Hunter Nemechek was second at 183.180 in the No. 42 Pye-Barker Fire & Safety Toyota of Legacy Motor Club, owned by four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson. Ty Gibbs posted the third-fastest speed, 183.102, in the No. 54 SAIA Freight + Logistics Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Erik Jones was fourth at 182.830 in the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota of Legacy Motor Club, with Cup Series points leader Denny Hamlin fifth at 182.697 in the No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing.
“We just have to put the race together,” Jones said. “We had a car last year that could have contended, and it didn’t work out. So, hopefully this year we can kind of make up for the Dollar Tree race we had last year and finish it off.”
Up next for the NASCAR Cup Series is qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The Brickyard 400 presented by PPG starts at 2 p.m. Sunday.
There’s more at stake in the 160-lap race Sunday than victory in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races. The final round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge will take place during the race, with Ryan Blaney of Team Penske and Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports competing head-to-head for a $1 million prize. Whichever driver has a higher finishing position will claim the big bonus.
2023 Cup Series champion Blaney was ninth at 182.526 in the No. 12 Menards/Delta Ford. Gilliland was 28th at 180.712 in the No. 34 Grillo’s Pickles Ford.
Two drivers scraped the SAFER Barrier during practice, including defending Brickyard 400 winner Bubba Wallace in Turn 1. He drove his No. 23 Chumba Casino Toyota of 23XI Racing to the garage for repairs and returned later in the session, posting the 20th-fastest lap of 181.382.
Shane Van Gisbergen also brushed the wall in Turn 4 in his No. 97 Wendy’s Chevrolet of Trackhouse Racing.
Austin Cindric of Team Penske also spent time in Gasoline Alley with an electrical problem in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford. He returned to the track but was forced back to the garage with an apparent recurrence of the problem late in the session.
Ryan Preece of RFK Racing also made an early trip to the garage after the left rear tire went flat on his No. 60 Thornton’s Ford.
JR Motorsports, Chevy Rule O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice
NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain led a Chevrolet- and JR Motorsports-dominated practice for the Pennzoil 250 presented by Take 5 Oil Change, turning a top lap of 168.171 mph in the No. 9 Roto-Rooter Chevrolet fielded by the team co-owned by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chevy-powered drivers took the top six spots and eight of the top nine on the speed chart in the 50-minute session, with drivers from JR Motorsports powering to the top three spots and four of the top five. JR Motorsports won this NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race last year at IMS with Connor Zilisch behind the wheel.
2018 Pennzoil 250 winner Justin Allgaier was second at 167.845 in the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet of JR Motorsports, followed by Carson Kvapil at 167.626 in the No. 1 Wilde Protein Crackers Chevrolet of JR Motorsports.
Sam Mayer was fourth at 167.106 in the No. 7 Audibel Chevrolet of Haas Factory Team, with NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott rounding out the top five at 166.503 in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet fielded by JR Motorsports.
Rookie Brent Crews was the fastest non-Chevy driver, seventh at 166.328 in the No. 19 YoungLife Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing. But that strong run came with a small setback, as Crews brushed the SAFER Barrier at the exit of Turn 1 early in the practice.
“I just got a little free there,” Crews said. “Our car is really good, and I’m excited for the race.”
Up next is qualifying at noon ET Saturday, followed by the 100-lap race at 4 p.m.
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