Average Practice Speeds: Bristol – Food City 500

Similar to last week in Las Vegas, there was practice both before and after qualifying this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Once again, I removed the speeds from the first practice session because most teams worked just on qualifying then. Greg Biffle won the pole for Sunday’s Food City 500, and you can find the complete starting lineup by clicking here. The average practice speeds shown below are the combined speeds from the two practice sessions held on morning/afternoon. Every car should have been in race trim during those two practices, so the average speeds shouldn’t be skewed too much.

I’m skipping my Predictions post this week. It may be back next week. Please hit the social media buttons on the bottom of your favorite posts on ifantasyrace.com–not only does it spread the website but it ensures us that we’re not putting up these posts for nothing.

Important Practice Notes: Jimmie Johnson spun in first practice and Paul Menard got into the back of him, causing a little damage. Nothing major.

In the first practice session (held on Friday) the five fastest drivers were:
1. Carl Edwards – 123.921 mph
2. A.J. Allmendinger – 123.881 mph
3. Marcos Ambrose – 123.865 mph
4. Joey Logano – 123.826 mph
5. Ryan Newman – 123.730 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

In the second practice, which was the first session on Saturday, the fastest were:
1. A.J. Allmendinger – 122.638 mph
2. Kyle Busch – 122.576 mph
3. Ryan Newman – 122.443 mph
4. Greg Biffle – 122.380 mph
5. Martin Truex, Jr. – 122.341 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

In terms of ten-lap average, the top five for second practice were:
1. Kasey Kahne – 121.737 mph
2. Ryan Newman – 121.506 mph
3. Martin Truex, Jr. – 121.458 mph
4. Matt Kenseth – 121.257 mph
5. Brad Keselowski – 121.227 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart for practice two.

In Happy Hour, the fast five were:
1. Ryan Newman – 121.883 mph
2. Kyle Busch – 121.836 mph
3. Brad Keselowski – 121.682 mph
4. David Reutimann – 121.682 mph
5. Kasey Kahne – 121.628 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

When it came to ten-lap average, the best for Happy Hour were:
1. Ryan Newman – 120.562 mph
2. Joey Logano – 120.431 mph
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 120.347 mph
4. Regan Smith – 120.309 mph
5. Jimmie Johnson – 120.221 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart for Happy Hour.

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. I have found over the years that this is much more accurate as to whether or not someone has a car that is good for one lap or one that can consistently be fast. These numbers, however, can be skewed if a team puts new tires on frequently or rarely changes the tires. The average speeds below are the combined average speeds from the last two practice sessions of the weekend, which were both held on Saturday. 

Below is the social media buttons I talked about earlier in the post. 

If you want fantasy advice, feel free to follow me and ask your questions on Twitter (@FanNASCARPredic).

My Top Five (in no particular order): Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Jeff Gordon.

Sleeper Picks: I’m sticking to my guns from earlier in the week and I think A.J. Allmendinger could grab a win. I also like Martin Truex, Jr.’s Toyota.

Avoid: Carl Edwards, Juan Montoya, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Burton.