Phoenix (ISM Raceway) NASCAR Practice #1 Notes

Alex Bowman – Started in race trim with an 8 lap run. After his run he said, “It’s really stable right now. Little free on exit on throttle.” “Really deep entry, not a whole lot of brake. You have to drive it really hard.” Following his first run in qualifying trim which jumped him up to 7th halfway through practice he said, “On the edge free in. Gets a little edgy on throttle on exit.”

Chris Buescher – He spent some time in race trim this session. Following a late run in qualifying trim which jumped him up to 11th he said, “We’ve got some speed in this thing.”

David Ragan – Following his opening run which was two laps in qualifying trim he said,“It was really ‘skatey’ for the most part, then coming to the checkered off of 3 and 4, it finally gained some grip.” 25 minutes into practice while he was 18th he said, “It rocks front-to-rear, like you’re on a see-saw. It’s not fast and violent, it’s more slow and steady and I think that’s what’s making it tight. I had more overall grip on that run.”

Matt DiBenedetto – His early run in qualifying trim put him at the top of the speed chart. Said this was a good practice session for his team.

Ty Dillon – Worked on qualifying trim exclusively this session. Following his opening run he said, “I quit too soon there. It never got too loose or too tight though. I might have been hitting the splittler a touch.” After his second run in qualifying trim while he was 28th he said “Grip was good. Just too tight in both ends.”