Chastain goes fastest in Pocono practice before spinning

Ross Chastain laid down the fastest speed in NASCAR Cup Series practice at Pocono Raceway and then spun his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet in the final moments of the session.

Fortunately, he kept the No. 1 car off the wall after getting out of shape off Turn 3. As for his quick lap, Chastain clocked in at 167.720mph (53.661s).

Christopher Bell was second fastest at 167.635mph and Daniel Suarez was third fastest at 167.345mph. Kurt Busch was fourth at 167.261mph and Kyle Larson completed the top five at 167.184mph.

Erik Jones was sixth at 167.004mph, Kyle Busch seventh at 166.920mph, Tyler Reddick eighth at 166.914mph, Alex Bowman ninth at 166.911mph, and Chase Elliott completed the top 10 at 1166.827mph.

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Bowman won the first race at Pocono last season when it was a doubleheader weekend. Kyle Busch won the second.

Pocono is down to one race on the Cup Series schedule this season.

Denny Hamlin, 11th fastest, caught the wall in practice, putting a long scrape on the fender above the right rear tire.

William Byron was 13th fastest at 166.134mph. Byron, from the first group of drivers on track in practice, spun off Turn 3. His spin was also in the final moments of the session and he kept the car off the wall.

Only four drivers made 10 consecutive laps in practice. Chase Elliott was the fastest driver in the category over Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Chris Buescher.

There are 36 drivers entered in Sunday’s race at Pocono.