On a weekend that every driver finds themselves facing a steep learning curve, as the NASCAR Cup Series is visiting a new venue, the streets of the Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, CA, Kyle Larson has the distinct mental edge of knowing he turned the fastest lap on the opening day of on-track action.
Larson, who drives the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, cranked out a 2 minute, 16.588-second lap around the 3.4-mile street course, which allowed him to top the speed charts in the practice session by 0.293 seconds over Todd Gilliland.
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Ty Gibbs was the third-fastest driver in the session, while Connor Zilisch, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top-five fastest drivers.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is the driver everyone expects to dominate Sunday’s race, was only able to muster the eighth-fastest lap time in the session.
Austin Hill, who is driving the Richard Childress Racing car vacated by the late Kyle Busch, notably ranked ninth-fastest in the practice.
A name that Formula 1 fans will recognize, Kevin Magnussen is making his NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend. The Danish driver clocked in 29th-fastest, driving the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
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Christopher Bell, who is continuing to race with a fractured left wrist, was 36th-fastest in the 39-car session. Brent Crews, an 18-year-old NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, is standing by as the relief driver for Bell this weekend.
Crews turned four laps near the end of the session, and on his first lap on the course, he nearly matched Bell’s fastest lap time. Crews trailed Bell’s lap time by 0.050 seconds.
Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is qualifying for the Anduril 250, which will take place Saturday, June 20, at 2:30 PM ET. That session will be streamed live on Prime Video.
Prime Video will also carry the live broadcast of Sunday’s Anduril 250 at 4:00 PM ET.
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Anduril 250 Practice Results
1. 5 – Kyle Larson
2. 34 – Todd Gilliland
3. 54 – Ty Gibbs
4. 88 – Connor Zilisch
5. 77 – Carson Hocevar
6. 67 – Corey Heim
7. 71 – Michael McDowell
8. 97 – Shane van Gisbergen
9. 33 – Austin Hill
10. 48 – Alex Bowman
11. 45 – Tyler Reddick
12. 22 – Joey Logano
13. 35 – Riley Herbst
14. 11 – Denny Hamlin
15. 24 – William Byron
16. 10 – Ty Dillon
17. 60 – Ryan Preece
18. 12 – Ryan Blaney
19. 16 – A.J. Allmendinger
20. 23 – Bubba Wallace
21. 9 – Chase Elliott
22. 38 – Zane Smith
23. 19 – Chase Briscoe
24. 51 – Cody Ware
25. 41 – Cole Custer
26. 17 – Chris Buescher
27. 3 – Austin Dillon
28. 47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
29. 91 – Kevin Magnussen
30. 42 – John Hunter Nemechek
31. 4 – Noah Gragson
32. 1 – Ross Chastain
33. 7 – Daniel Suarez
34. 21 – Josh Berry
35. 6 – Brad Keselowski
36. 20 – Christopher Bell
37. 20 – Brent Crews
38. 2 – Austin Cindric
39. 84 – Jimmie Johnson
40. 43 – Erik Jones
This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/racing-america as Kyle Larson Paces NASCAR Cup Practice At Naval Base Coronado.
