Practice Breakdown: Phoenix 2 – Kobalt Tools 500 (Chase Race #9)
With Phoenix International Raceway getting a complete re-pavement and re-configuration, practice speeds (and probably starting position) will be as important as ever this weekend. If you read my Preview from earlier this week (click here if you didn’t), you probably know that I personally think that this ‘new’ Phoenix will race more like Indianapolis, while Ryan thinks it’s going to race more like Richmond (click here for his reasoning). Either way, I’m going to be leaning on practice speeds pretty heavily to make my picks this weekend, and as you probably read in Ryan’s Scouting Report, there isn’t much of a second groove yet, so starting position could be very important. Obviously, after the Nationwide race, we should know more about whether passing will be easy or not on Sunday, though. There were two practice sessions today (Friday) and qualifying will start tomorrow afternoon (1:30 PM eastern). Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 should start around 3:30 PM eastern.
Important Practice Notes: Kyle Busch blew his engine as soon as he fired the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, so he had very limited track time in first practice (23 laps). In Happy Hour, Ryan Newman had a vibration and his team spent much of the session trying to fix it. Newman called it a race-able vibration, whatever that means. Also in the second session, Jamie McMurray had a fuel issue. Last I heard was that they wouldn’t have to change the engine, but I’m not 100% sure on that. Sorry I can’t give you more information on that, practice was on ESPN2, not SPEED, so I didn’t get much information because it wasn’t involving Carl Edwards or Tony Stewart.
In the first practice session on Friday, the five fastest drivers were:
1. Jeff Burton – 140.067 mph
2. Matt Kenseth – 139.925 mph
3. David Ragan – 139.616 mph
4. Paul Menard – 139.605 mph
5. Ryan Newman – 139.540 mph
Complete rankings of this practice can be found by clicking here.
In terms of ten-lap average, the following were fastest during this practice session:
1. Tony Stewart – 135.611 mph
2. Carl Edwards – 135.436 mph
3. Jeff Gordon – 134.478 mph
4. Jimmie Johnson – 134.271 mph
5. Juan Montoya – 134.142 mph
In the “Happy Hour”, the fast five were:
1. Paul Menard – 141.121 mph
2. Carl Edwards – 140.724 mph
3. Regan Smith – 140.362 mph
4. Brian Vickers – 139.974 mph
5. Kyle Busch – 139.855 mph
Complete rankings of this practice can be found by clicking here.
In terms of ten-lap average, the following were fastest during this practice session:
1. Kasey Kahne – 136.644 mph
2. Matt Kenseth – 136.429 mph
3. Tony Stewart – 136.325 mph
4. Greg Biffle – 136.166 mph
5. Jamie McMurray – 136.165 mph
AVERAGE PRACTICE SPEEDS:
Average practice speeds are calculated by taking the average speed of each driver in each practice and multiplying it by the number of laps ran. When you do this for each practice and add the totals together, and then divide by the total number of laps ran, you get an average of their practice speed, instead of just the one lap statistic you see when you look at practice sheets.
- Brian Vickers at 135.657 mph over 95 laps
- Martin Truex, Jr. at 135.648 mph over 95 laps
- Carl Edwards at 135.618 mph over 98 laps
- Kevin Harvick at 135.595 mph over 98 laps
- Paul Menard at 135.450 mph over 89 laps
- Matt Kenseth at 135.411 mph over 117 laps
- Regan Smith at 135.361 mph over 91 laps
- Kasey Kahne at 135.332 mph over 140 laps
- Jeff Burton at 135.330 mph over 113 laps
- Tony Stewart at 135.238 mph over 145 laps
- Brad Keselowski at 135.226 mph over 107 laps
- Ryan Newman at 135.190 mph over 100 laps
- David Ragan at 135.171 mph over 112 laps
- A.J. Allmendinger at 135.131 mph over 142 laps
- Greg Biffle at 135.123 mph over 134 laps
- Mark Martin at 135.029 mph over 103 laps
- Jamie McMurray at 135.020 mph over 115 laps
- Kurt Busch at 135.012 mph over 133 laps
- Denny Hamlin at 134.988 mph over 108 laps
- Joey Logano at 134.979 mph over 132 laps
- Kyle Busch at 134.942 mph over 108 laps
- Marcos Ambrose at 134.920 mph over 89 laps
- Clint Bowyer at 134.895 mph over 69 laps
- Jeff Gordon at 134.887 mph over 105 laps
- Jimmie Johnson at 134.691 mph over 119 laps
- David Gilliland at 134.677 mph over 46 laps
- Juan Montoya at 134.484 mph over 91 laps
- David Reutimann at 134.418 mph over 113 laps
- Casey Mears at 134.360 mph over 77 laps
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at 134.217 mph over 80 laps
- Landon Cassill at 134.076 mph over 65 laps
- Bobby Labonte at 133.549 mph over 107 laps
- Mike Bliss at 132.995 mph over 80 laps
- Geoff Bodine at 132.072 mph over 77 laps
- J.J. Yeley at 131.878 mph over 70 laps
- Michael McDowell at 136.123 mph over 38 laps
- Scott Speed at 135.874 mph over 22 laps
- Joe Nemechek at 135.775 mph over 35 laps
- Travis Kvapil at 135.770 mph over 40 laps
- Scott Stremme at 135.484 mph over 35 laps
- Scott Riggs at 134.825 mph over 34 laps
- Cole Whitt at 134.614 mph over 59 laps
- Mike Skinner at 133.964 mph over 23 laps
- Dave Blaney at 133.890 mph over 60 laps
- Robby Gordon at 132.598 mph over 33 laps
- Andy Lally at 132.061 mph over 58 laps