On the NASCAR Cup Series practice circuit at Circuit of The Americas, Shane van Gisbergen emerged as the fastest driver, clocking in an impressive 87.408 mph. He was closely followed by William Byron at 86.891 mph and Carson Hocevar, who completed the top trio with a speed of 86.853 mph.
Speedway Motorsports decided to mix things up a bit by opting for the shorter course for the weekend’s event, thus offering a unique set of corners as the drivers exited the esses. The practice sessions were extended to two 20-minute slots, providing the teams with ample opportunity to acclimate themselves with the new circuit and tire compound brought in by Goodyear especially for this weekend.
Following the top three, Ryan Blaney grabbed fourth position with a speed of 86.801mph, and Alex Bowman filled the fifth slot at 86.741mph. The top 10 was rounded out with Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, and Ross Chastain, clocking in speeds from 86.701mph to 86.573mph.
Not far behind, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher and Justin Haley secured positions 11 to 15, and Tyler Reddick took the 16th spot.
In a noteworthy development, 17-year-old Connor Zilisch, who made his debut in the Cup Series this weekend, demonstrated his potential by securing the 17th position with a speed of 86.397 mph.
The rest of the field saw Austin Cindric at 18th, Christopher Bell at 21st, and Joey Logano at 22nd. Some seasoned names like Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski found themselves further behind, at 32nd and 33rd respectively.
In terms of consistency, Larson proved to be the most reliable, having the fastest 10 consecutive lap average, followed by Elliott, Bowman, Blaney, and Suarez. The practice sessions went smoothly without any major incidents.
A total of 37 teams have entered the competition at COTA, and all are certain to make the field, including the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet team with rookie Zilisch, representing Trackhouse Racing as their fourth entry.
The next event on the agenda is the Cup Series qualifying at COTA, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET. Fans and spectators are eagerly awaiting the main event, as the stage is set for an exciting race weekend.
