On a day reserved for practice, there was plenty of action on the track as teams prepared for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and the Kroger 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
David Ragan was a bit of a surprise in the final Cup practice Friday, edging veteran Jeff Gordon for the top spot in practice. Ragan’s speed of 96.268 mph around the .526-mile oval was a tad better than Gordon’s fastest lap of 96.220 mph. Gordon was atop the leader board for much of the 90-minute session.
Brad Keselowski had the third fastest lap at 96.166 mph with David Reutimann and Kasey Kahne completing the top five.
Joey Logano and Dennis Setzer brought some excitement to Happy Hour practice. Logano made contact with the outside retaining wall early in the final practice, heavily damaging his Toyota. Logano will start a backup car on Sunday.
Dennis Setzer, piloting the No. 92 Brian Keselowski Dodge, hit the wall later in the session and much harder than Logano. The car was destroyed, but Setzer was unhurt. The team did not have a backup car and withdrew from Sunday’s race..
Austin Dillon led the round of practice Friday for Saturday’s Kroger 250. The third generation driver toured lapped the 0.526-mile Virginia short track at 94.775 miles per hour.
He was followed by Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter, who ran 94.505 mph and 94.496 mph, respectively.
Completing the top five were Justin Lofton and Kyle Busch.
The second five was James Buescher, Ricky Carmichael, Todd Bodine, Jason White and Ron Hornaday Jr.
Saturday is another full day on-track with qualifying for the Kroger 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at 10:40 and qualifying for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at 12:10 p.m. The Kroger 250 will take the green flag at 2 p.m.
Martinsville Speedway PR
