Kevin Harvick led the way to a Saturday sweep of Monster Energy Series practices, capping his show of speed with a chart-topping lap in final practice at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.
Harvick, who claimed the Busch Pole in Friday’s qualifying, secured a 135.125 mph lap in the final 50-minute session. Harvick will start first in Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in search of his 10th career victory at the 1-mile Arizona oval.
RELATED: Harvick wins pole | Final practice results
Harvick is competing the next two weeks without crew chief Rodney Childers and car chief Cheddar Smith, both suspended as part of L1-level penalties against the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 team after last weekend’s win at Texas. Veteran crew chief Tony Gibson and interim car chief Nick DeFazio will fill in for the last two races of the season.
Brad Keselowski collected the second-fastest speed in the final session, clocking a 134.484 mph lap in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford. Kyle Busch, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. went third through fifth, all in Toyotas.
Five of the eight remaining championship-eligible drivers were in the top 10 on the final practice leaderboard. The field of four title contenders for the Nov. 18 Homestead-Miami Speedway finale will be determined after Sunday’s 312-lapper.
Paul Menard crashed with less than one minute remaining in the practice session. His Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford spun and made heavy left-side contact with the outside retaining wall in Turn 3.
The first incident of final practice occurred 12 minutes in, when a small fire flashed under the hood of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Three teams had time deducted at the end of final practice:
- No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger (15 minutes for failing pre-qualifying inspection twice)
- No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. (30 minutes for failing pre-qualifying inspection three times)
- No .97 Obaika Racing Toyota of Tanner Berryhill (15 minutes for failing pre-qualifying inspection twice)
Harvick sets early pace at Phoenix
Pole winner Kevin Harvick set the pace in Saturday’s early Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at ISM Raceway in Phoenix.
Harvick pushed the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford to a best lap of 134.710 mph. He earned the first starting spot in Friday qualifying for Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the ninth of 10 races in the NASCAR Playoffs.
RELATED: Best 10-lap averages | Practice 2 results
Kyle Larson turned in the second-fastest lap (134.680 mph) on the 1-mile track in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney filled out the rest of the top five in the 50-minute session.
Sunday’s 312-lap race is the final event in the three-race Round of 8. The championship-eligible field will be reduced to the four title-contending drivers who will vie for the Monster Energy Series crown Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Joey Logano, the only driver automatically locked into a Championship 4 spot, was 24th-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford — slowest among the eight title contenders.
MORE: See every car in the field | Full schedule for Phoenix
The final portion of practice was set aside for teams to practice restarts. The Arizona facility is preparing for its first Monster Energy Series race with the start-finish line moved into the west turn.
Six teams were docked 15 minutes of practice time for being late to pre-qualifying inspection:
- No. 7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet for DJ Kennington
- No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet of Ty Dillon
- No. 23 BK Racing Toyota of JJ Yeley
- No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson
- No. 66 Phoenix Air Racing Toyota of Timmy Hill
- No .97 Obaika Racing Toyota of Tanner Berryhill
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