Average Practice Speeds: Michigan 2 – Pure Michigan 400

This weekend at Michigan we had a (what I like to call) “normal” weekend. There was a practice session on Friday afternoon in which most teams focused solely on qualifying, which was held later that day. Mark Martin won the pole in case you missed it, and the full starting lineup for the Pure Michigan 400 can be found by clicking here. Then, on Saturday morning, there were two additional practices where the teams set their car up for the race on Sunday. I find that this weekend schedule allows the average speed chart to be that much more accurate in showing who is fast.

Be sure to check out my final race predictions for the Pure Michigan 400 (will be posted Saturday afternoon) and don’t forget that you can save $2.00 off of a monthly subscription this week only (click here for more details). 

Important Practice Notes: Very quickly into the second practice session of the weekend, the #48 team saw smoke from their engine and decided to change it out. Jimmie Johnson will start from the back of the field on Sunday. For some reason, Kyle Busch would rather go to Montreal for the Nationwide race and didn’t participate in Happy Hour, and David Reutimann scuffed the tires for the #18 team. Halfway through the session, Reutty hit something on the track and put some damage on the car, although it only sounded cosmetic. With about ten minutes left in the final practice, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spun his Chevy into the wall and had to go to a backup car, which he never he never had any time to get any laps in with. Soon after, Kurt Busch spun his car but I didn’t see where he hit anything and didn’t hear anything about a backup. Finally, it was reported at the end of Happy Hour that Carl Edwards had a major vibration and thought he broke something on the car. His teammate Greg Biffle was also complaining about a vibration throughout the day on Saturday. As of now, there’s no news whether or not either will pull out the backup car.

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 chart below is only taking into account the two practice sessions on Saturday. I put the rank for each driver in the Happy Hour sessions, as many teams simply scuffed tires in the first Saturday practice. Also, any laps made by the #18 in Happy Hour (it was David Reutimann driving) have been omitted.

In the first practice session of the weekend (Friday), the fast five were:
1. Jimmie Johnson – 197.450 mph
2. Kasey Kahne – 196.861 mph
3. Mark Martin – 196.786 mph
4. Kevin Harvick – 196.705 mph
5. Martin Truex, Jr. – 196.448 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

In the second practice (first on Saturday), the fastest drivers were:
1. Greg Biffle – 200.362 mph
2. Kasey Kahne – 198.588 mph
3. Carl Edwards – 198.555 mph
4. Mark Martin – 198.178 mph
5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 198.134 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

The following drivers had the best ten-lap average in the second practice session:
1. Kyle Busch – 196.210 mph
2. Brad Keselowski – 195.127 mph
3. Paul Menard – 194.859 mph
4. Bobby Labonte – 194.245 mph
5. David Reutimann – 191.976 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart from this practice.

In “Happy Hour”, the following drivers were fastest:
1. Greg Biffle – 198.879 mph
2. Jimmie Johnson – 198.222 mph
3. Joey Logano – 197.960 mph
4. Matt Kenseth – 197.916 mph
5. Mark Martin – 197.488 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.

The following drivers had the best ten-lap average in “Happy Hour”:
1. Kasey Kahne – 196.528 mph
2. Mark Martin – 195.670 mph