For the first time in its history, Circuit of the Americas is hosting official NASCAR action. With their races the next day, Friday saw the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series run practice laps for the first time in months. By the end of the sessions, Austin Cindric was the fastest of the Xfinity drivers while Zane Smith led the truckers.
Xfinity: Road course ace Cindric leads the way
It comes with little surprise that Cindric was the fastest Xfinity driver in practice. Prior to NASCAR, the reigning series champion and current points leader cut his teeth in road racing which included open-wheel and sports cars, while five of his twelve NASCAR national series victories have come on road courses. He set a fastest time of 137.778 seconds (slightly over 2 minutes, 17 seconds) at 89.1 mph.
“[COTA is] not very similar to any other natural terrain road course in the States, at least on a large scale. It’s funny because it’s called Circuit of the Americas, but it’s like the most European race track we have in the States, so I definitely feel like it has different character traits,” Cindric said in a post-session media conference. “Obviously, character traits are a lot more suited to high-speed, high-downforce vehicles in Formula One and IndyCar and so on, so I feel like in our cars, a lot of those corners slowed down are a lot different. It adds a new dynamic for us and I think you’re gonna see different things out of our races than you probably would have out of a Formula One race here, so I think that’s something that the locals that have come out to this racetrack should be excited about.
“But I wouldn’t say there’s really anywhere else in the country quite like it. I’d say there are places in Europe like it, but not over here.”
Daniel Hemric, who finished third at the Daytona Road Course in February, overcame a power steering issue to finish second quickest. Tyler Reddick led the Chevrolets and Cup Series drivers in Jordan Anderson Racing‘s first Xfinity track time since qualifying was rained out for the season opener on Daytona’s oval. Reddick will need to set a fast time in Saturday morning’s qualifying session in order for JAR to qualify for its maiden Xfinity race as the #31 has no owner points.
Among the one-off road course ringers, series newcomer and IMSA star Spencer Pumpelly was the fastest for JD Motorsports in thirteenth, three positions ahead of IMSA team-mate Andy Lally. Longtime ringer Boris Said was twenty-second in his return to NASCAR after last racing in 2017.
Ryan Sieg and Bayley Currey did not set times as the former suffered an engine failure while the latter’s transmission broke. The predicament also befell Kris Wright, but he was able to get two laps in before his engine expired.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday morning followed by the Pit Boss 250. As the first race with qualifying since the opener, thirty-six cars will make the grid and seven are going home.
Position | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Best Time | Best Speed (mph) | Laps |
1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 137.778 | 89.100 | 8 |
2 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 137.845 | 89.057 | 11 |
3 | 31 | Tyler Reddick* | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 137.963 | 88.980 | 10 |
4 | 54 | Kyle Busch* | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 137.989 | 88.964 | 12 |
5 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 138.610 | 88.565 | 8 |
6 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 138.813 | 88.436 | 11 |
7 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 138.940 | 88.355 | 6 |
8 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 139.191 | 88.195 | 9 |
9 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 139.203 | 88.188 | 7 |
10 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 139.432 | 88.043 | 10 |
11 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 139.618 | 87.926 | 10 |
12 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 139.671 | 87.892 | 6 |
13 | 6 | Spencer Pumpelly | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 139.812 | 87.804 | 10 |
14 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 139.812 | 87.804 | 9 |
15 | 17 | Cole Custer* | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 139.888 | 87.756 | 11 |
16 | 23 | Andy Lally | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 140.049 | 87.655 | 8 |
17 | 5 | Kevin Harvick* | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Ford | 140.139 | 87.599 | 11 |
18 | 8 | Miguel Paludo | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 140.158 | 87.587 | 10 |
19 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet | 140.240 | 87.536 | 5 |
20 | 91 | Preston Pardus | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 140.402 | 87.435 | 10 |
21 | 26 | Kris Wright* | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 140.472 | 87.391 | 2 |
22 | 13 | Boris Said | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 140.776 | 87.202 | 9 |
23 | 48 | Jade Buford | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 140.951 | 87.094 | 8 |
24 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141.386 | 86.826 | 7 |
25 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 141.530 | 86.738 | 6 |
26 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141.596 | 86.697 | 8 |
27 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141.655 | 86.661 | 10 |
28 | 77 | Austin Dillon* | Bassett Racing | Chevrolet | 141.662 | 86.657 | 3 |
29 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 141.954 | 86.479 | 10 |
30 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 141.956 | 86.478 | 10 |
31 | 52 | Gray Gaulding | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 142.049 | 86.421 | 7 |
32 | 78 | Jesse Little | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 142.420 | 86.196 | 5 |
33 | 66 | Timmy Hill* | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 143.012 | 85.839 | 8 |
34 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 143.312 | 85.659 | 7 |
35 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 143.392 | 85.612 | 9 |
36 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 143.628 | 85.471 | 11 |
37 | 61 | Stephen Leicht | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 143.665 | 85.449 | 9 |
38 | 99 | Ryan Ellis | B.J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 144.241 | 85.108 | 10 |
39 | 15 | Colby Howard | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 145.027 | 84.646 | 9 |
40 | 07 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 145.497 | 84.373 | 12 |
41 | 90 | Caesar Bacarella | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 147.061 | 83.476 | 8 |
42 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | No Time | No Time | N/A |
43 | 74 | Bayley Currey* | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | No Time | No Time | N/A |
Truck: GMS tops Truck practices
Smith and his GMS Racing team-mate Sheldon Creed seem like two peas in a pod. After finishing 1–2 in the 2020 championship with Creed on top, the two led the Truck practice held before the Xfinity cars. The duo were the only drivers to set times below 138 seconds and speeds over 89 mph. While Smith does not boast much of a road course résumé, he and Creed—the latter having won the Daytona RC in 2020—also raced in the RC-savvy Stadium Super Trucks together last year.
Kaz Grala, who scored a top ten at Daytona the last time he was in a truck, was the fastest one-off driver in sixth. Of the RC ringers, Parker Chase was the quickest in eleventh. Paul Menard, hoping to run his first Truck race since 2007 and taking a break from his two-year retirement, was fifteenth.
Super late model racer Logan Bearden was twenty-first as the fastest of seven drivers who have never made a NASCAR national series start. Trans-Am Series driver Michele Abbate was thirty-sixth but boasted the second-best ten-lap run at 80.071 mph behind points leader John Hunter Nemechek‘s 81.487.
SCCA driver and Texas native Brad Gross, who is hoping to make his NASCAR début, spun in turn one and did not set a lap time while Roger Reuse‘s driveshaft broke during his run. Tate Fogleman and Gross’s CMI Motorsports team-mate Samuel Lecomte also brought out cautions for mechanical issues while on track.
Like the Xfinity Series, the Trucks’ Toyota Tundra 225 on Saturday will have thirty-six drivers, meaning seven will not make the field based on qualifying.
Position | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Best Time | Best Speed (mph) | Laps |
1 | 21 | Zane Smith | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 137.395 | 89.348 | 12 |
2 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 137.735 | 89.128 | 11 |
3 | 9 | Grant Enfinger | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 138.472 | 88.653 | 12 |
4 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 138.768 | 88.464 | 10 |
5 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 139.493 | 88.004 | 11 |
6 | 02 | Kaz Grala | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet | 139.563 | 87.960 | 10 |
7 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 139.599 | 87.938 | 11 |
8 | 18 | Chandler Smith | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 139.829 | 87.793 | 12 |
9 | 32 | Sam Mayer | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 139.893 | 87.753 | 9 |
10 | 4 | John Hunter Nemechek | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 139.899 | 87.749 | 15 |
11 | 51 | Parker Chase | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Toyota | 139.937 | 87.725 | 13 |
12 | 16 | Austin Hill | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 140.112 | 87.616 | 11 |
13 | 11 | Camden Murphy | Spencer Davis Motorsports | Toyota | 140.183 | 87.571 | 10 |
14 | 42 | Carson Hocevar # | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 140.288 | 87.506 | 10 |
15 | 66 | Paul Menard | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 140.399 | 87.437 | 6 |
16 | 98 | Christian Eckes | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 140.538 | 87.350 | 13 |
17 | 75 | Parker Kligerman | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 140.583 | 87.322 | 13 |
18 | 22 | Austin Wayne Self | AM Racing | Chevrolet | 140.772 | 87.205 | 11 |
19 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 141.072 | 87.019 | 10 |
20 | 26 | Tyler Ankrum | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 141.245 | 86.913 | 9 |
21 | 44 | Logan Bearden | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141.279 | 86.892 | 11 |
22 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141.342 | 86.853 | 6 |
23 | 45 | Bayley Currey | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141.415 | 86.808 | 10 |
24 | 23 | Chase Purdy | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 141.797 | 86.575 | 10 |
25 | 15 | Tanner Gray | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 141.844 | 86.546 | 10 |
26 | 24 | Jack Wood | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 141.968 | 86.470 | 13 |
27 | 1 | Hailie Deegan | David Gilliland Racing | Ford | 141.984 | 86.460 | 9 |
28 | 49 | John Atwell | CMI Motorsports | Ford | 142.176 | 86.344 | 12 |
29 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | ThorSport Racing | Toyota | 142.348 | 86.239 | 13 |
30 | 33 | Cameron Lawrence | Reaume Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 142.498 | 86.149 | 9 |
31 | 19 | Derek Kraus | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Toyota | 142.775 | 85.981 | 5 |
32 | 34 | Lawless Alan | Reaume Brothers Racing | Toyota | 143.059 | 85.811 | 11 |
33 | 25 | Timothy Peters | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 143.288 | 85.674 | 12 |
34 | 12 | Tate Fogleman | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet | 143.560 | 85.511 | 11 |
35 | 41 | Dawson Cram | Cram Racing Enterprises | Chevrolet | 144.010 | 85.244 | 14 |
36 | 30 | Michele Abbate | On Point Motorsports | Toyota | 144.302 | 85.072 | 16 |
37 | 20 | Spencer Boyd | Young’s Motorsports | Chevrolet | 144.663 | 84.859 | 8 |
38 | 04 | Cory Roper | Roper Racing | Ford | 144.850 | 84.750 | 10 |
39 | 40 | Ryan Truex | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 145.095 | 84.607 | 8 |
40 | 72 | Samuel Lecomte | CMI Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147.736 | 83.094 | 8 |
41 | 10 | Jennifer Jo Cobb | Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing | Chevrolet | 161.773 | 75.884 | 8 |
42 | 83 | Brad Gross | CMI Motorsports | Chevrolet | 414.280 | 29.632 | 1 |
43 | 3 | Roger Reuse | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 589.632 | 20.820 | 1 |