Austin Dillon, Riley Herbst, Austin Hill fastest in Friday Charlotte practice

Friday’s NASCAR track activity at Charlotte Motor Speedway featured some rain as the Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World Truck Series conducted practices. The weather reached the point where the Trucks’ qualifying session was cancelled, resulting in the night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 having the starting grid set by formula.

Despite the wet conditions, Austin Hill showed speed as he was the fastest in Truck practice. Riley Herbst did the same for the Xfinity Series while Austin Dillon led Cup practice. It is the fourth practice session of the year and second in a row after doing so at COTA last week.

Dillon, the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner, set a fastest practice speed of 180.935 mph, beating out a trio of Chevrolets in Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and Erik Jones. Qualifying will take place on Sunday before the 600. The field of thirty-eight is mostly the same with the exception of B.J. McLeod (thirty-second) returning to his #78 Live Fast Motorsports car that road ringer Kyle Tilley drove at COTA, David Starr (thirty-eighth) running his first Cup race of the year in MBM Motorsports‘s #66, and Cody Ware (thirty-third) and Garrett Smithley (thirty-fifth) in the #53 and #51 for Rick Ware Racing, respectively. Ware is normally the #51’s driver but had not expected to run the 600, instead hoping to enter the Indianapolis 500 before the plan fell through due to sponsorship troubles; he replaces the original replacement J.J. Yeley.

The Xfinity practice was delayed by twenty minutes due to rain. When it finally took place, Herbst led the way at 178.436 mph ahead of Daniel Hemric.

“I’ve been looking forward to this practice since probably Atlanta, just working with a new team and want as much experience with them and Richard (Boswell, crew chief) as possible and really glad the rain stayed away, and were able to put some quick lap times down and have a good Ford Mustang,” Herbst said afterwards.

Forty-three drivers are entered for Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300, and qualifying means all but seven will race. Driver changes include Ty Gibbs (fourth) in the Joe Gibbs Racing #54 that Kyle Busch drove to vctory at COTA, Chase Briscoe (seventh) in B.J. McLeod Motorsports‘s #99 that Ryan Ellis ran, Dillon Bassett (eighth) taking over for Austin Dillon in Bassett Racing‘s #77, Ty Dillon (tenth) in the #23 for Our Motorsports, Josh Berry (twenty-first) returning to the #8 of JR Motorsports, Joe Graf Jr. (twenty-sixth) in his #07 SS-Green Light Racing machine after missing COTA due to injury and team-mate Ware (thirty-sixth) in the #17 rather than Cole Custer, Matt Mills (thirty-fifth) back in the BJMM #5 that Kevin Harvick drove, Ryan Vargas (thirty-seventh) returning to his JD Motorsports #4 after being replaced by Spencer Pumpelly, Chad Finchum (fortieth) in Boris Said‘s place in MBM’s #13, and Brandon Gdovic (forty-third) over Kris Wright in Sam Hunt Racing‘s #26. Stefan Parsons was twenty-ninth in BJMM’s first race with the #76.

Interestingly, the return of Gibbs, Berry, and Vargas mean Saturday’s race will have every 2021 Rookie of the Year contender after COTA featured none.

Hill and fellow Toyota driver John Hunter Nemechek were the top two in Truck practice at 177.684 mph and 177.585 mph, respectively. Ty Majeski finished sixteenth as he gears up for his first race of 2021 in ThorSport Racing‘s #66, which Paul Menard drove in Austin. Bret Holmes (twenty-third) takes over his #32 Bret Holmes Racing truck from Sam Mayer, while Wright (twenty-fifth) is back in the #02 for Young’s Motorsports after Kaz Grala filled in. Danny Bohn (twenty-ninth, replaces Michele Abbate), Drew Dollar (thirty-first, replaces Parker Chase), C.J. McLaughlin (thirty-third, replaces Lawless Alan), Keith McGee (thirty-fifth, replaces Roger Reuse), and Akinori Ogata (thirty-eighth, replaces Cameron Lawrence) make up the driver changes. Trey Hutchens finished thirty-fourth as he is set for his first Truck start of the year.

The Truck practice was reduced from its original forty drivers as Ray Ciccarelli had to withdraw his #49 CMI Motorsports entry due to sponsorship issues, while Spencer Davis and his #11 Spencer Davis Motorsports truck was a last-minute exit because of a “private family matter”.

Cup practice results

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps
1	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	29.845	180.935	35
2	48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.861	180.838	25
3	5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.866	180.808	22
4	43	Erik Jones	Richard Petty Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.947	180.319	13
5	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Ford	29.984	180.096	38
6	99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing Team	Chevrolet	29.991	180.054	36
7	8	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	30.002	179.988	42
8	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	30.015	179.910	21
9	24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.053	179.683	34
10	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.114	179.319	46
11	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.137	179.182	37
12	9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.153	179.087	41
13	6	Ryan Newman	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	30.180	178.926	40
14	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.203	178.790	43
15	20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.211	178.743	31
16	21	Matt DiBenedetto	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	30.223	178.672	38
17	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	30.223	178.672	43
18	23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Toyota	30.253	178.495	24
19	12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Ford	30.259	178.459	33
20	1	Kurt Busch	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	30.265	178.424	44
21	41	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	30.269	178.400	28
22	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske	Ford	30.274	178.371	41
23	34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	30.287	178.294	37
24	10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	30.296	178.241	23
25	42	Ross Chastain	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	30.311	178.153	42
26	14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	30.336	178.006	35
27	17	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	30.444	177.375	35
28	7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.454	177.317	21
29	38	Anthony Alfredo	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	30.455	177.311	41
30	77	Justin Haley*	Spire Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.464	177.258	20
31	37	Ryan Preece	JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	30.465	177.253	25
32	78	B.J. McLeod*	Live Fast Motorsports	Ford	30.878	174.882	9
33	53	Cody Ware*	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	30.894	174.791	7
34	00	Quin Houff	StarCom Racing	Chevrolet	30.999	174.199	11
35	51	Garrett Smithley*	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	31.489	171.488	10
36	52	Josh Bilicki	Rick Ware Racing	Ford	31.737	170.148	18
37	15	James Davison	Rick Ware Racing	Chevrolet	31.860	169.492	25
38	66	David Starr*	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	32.164	167.890	29

Xfinity

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps
1	98	Riley Herbst	Stewart-Haas Racing	Ford	30.263	178.436	24
2	18	Daniel Hemric	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.281	178.330	18
3	16	A.J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	30.392	177.678	15
4	54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.486	177.130	23
5	19	Brandon Jones	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.505	177.020	13
6	22	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Ford	30.532	176.864	24
7	99	Chase Briscoe*	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	Ford	30.605	176.442	15
8	77	Dillon Bassett	Bassett Racing	Chevrolet	30.605	176.442	7
9	20	Harrison Burton	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	30.689	175.959	23
10	23	Ty Dillon	Our Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.696	175.919	21
11	31	Tyler Reddick*	Jordan Anderson Racing	Chevrolet	30.703	175.879	18
12	2	Myatt Snider	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	30.786	175.404	17
13	39	Ryan Sieg	RSS Racing	Ford	30.801	175.319	12
14	10	Jeb Burton	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	30.820	175.211	15
15	11	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing	Chevrolet	30.866	174.950	8
16	7	Justin Allgaier	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.871	174.921	14
17	68	Brandon Brown	Brandonbilt Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.890	174.814	15
18	51	Jeremy Clements	Jeremy Clements Racing	Chevrolet	30.894	174.791	15
19	6	Landon Cassill	JD Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.906	174.723	10
20	9	Noah Gragson	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.942	174.520	18
21	8	Josh Berry	JR Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.971	174.357	19
22	0	Jeffrey Earnhardt	JD Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.003	174.177	8
23	1	Michael Annett	JD Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.005	174.165	15
24	36	Alex Labbé	DGM Racing	Chevrolet	31.055	173.885	9
25	02	Brett Moffitt	Our Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.062	173.846	9
26	07	Joe Graf Jr.	SS-Green Light Racing	Chevrolet	31.216	172.988	10
27	15	Colby Howard	JD Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.299	172.529	14
28	52	Gray Gaulding	Jimmy Means Racing	Chevrolet	31.363	172.177	10
29	76	Stefan Parsons	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	Ford	31.370	172.139	10
30	48	Jade Buford	Big Machine Racing	Chevrolet	31.407	171.936	17
31	78	Jesse Little	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	Toyota	31.411	171.914	8
32	92	Josh Williams	DGM Racing	Chevrolet	31.424	171.843	14
33	66	Timmy Hill*	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	31.439	171.761	5
34	47	Kyle Weatherman	Mike Harmon Racing	Chevrolet	31.449	171.707	11
35	5	Matt Mills	B.J. McLeod Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.484	171.516	6
36	17	Cody Ware	SS-Green Light Racing	Toyota	31.636	170.692	13
37	4	Ryan Vargas	JD Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.661	170.557	15
38	74	Bayley Currey*	Mike Harmon Racing	Chevrolet	31.704	170.326	11
39	61	David Starr	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	31.712	170.283	9
40	13	Chad Finchum	MBM Motorsports	Toyota	31.773	169.956	10
41	44	Tommy Joe Martins	Martins Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.824	169.683	14
42	90	B.J. McLeod	DGM Racing	Ford	31.827	169.667	2
43	26	Brandon Gdovic	Sam Hunt Racing	Toyota	33.708	160.199	14

Truck

Position	Number	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Best Time	Best Speed (mph)	Laps
1	16	Austin Hill	Hattori Racing Enterprises	Toyota	30.391	177.684	16
2	4	John Hunter Nemechek	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	30.408	177.585	10
3	42	Carson Hocevar	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.409	177.579	12
4	2	Sheldon Creed	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	30.417	177.532	21
5	15	Tanner Gray	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	30.467	177.241	10
6	18	Chandler Smith	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	30.550	176.759	22
7	52	Stewart Friesen	Halmar Friesen Racing	Toyota	30.553	176.742	11
8	88	Matt Crafton	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	30.612	176.401	17
9	98	Christian Eckes	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	30.622	176.344	11
10	19	Derek Kraus	McAnally-Hilgemann Racing	Toyota	30.635	176.269	19
11	13	Johnny Sauter	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	30.710	175.838	20
12	38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	30.711	175.833	10
13	21	Zane Smith	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	30.712	175.827	16
14	9	Grant Enfinger	CR7 Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.767	175.513	14
15	23	Chase Purdy	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	30.780	175.439	21
16	66	Ty Majeski	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	30.842	175.086	12
17	40	Ryan Truex	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.846	175.063	16
18	1	Hailie Deegan	David Gilliland Racing	Ford	30.863	174.967	16
19	99	Ben Rhodes	ThorSport Racing	Toyota	30.863	174.967	15
20	26	Tyler Ankrum	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	30.896	174.780	20
21	24	Jack Wood	GMS Racing	Chevrolet	31.028	174.036	13
22	45	Bayley Currey	Niece Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.043	173.952	10
23	32	Bret Holmes	Bret Holmes Racing	Chevrolet	31.184	173.166	12
24	25	Timothy Peters	Rackley WAR	Chevrolet	31.226	172.933	2
25	02	Kris Wright	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.426	171.832	14
26	56	Timmy Hill	Hill Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.478	171.548	7
27	41	Dawson Cram	Cram Racing Enterprises	Chevrolet	31.563	171.086	17
28	12	Tate Fogleman	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.575	171.021	8
29	30	Danny Bohn	On Point Motorsports	Toyota	31.610	170.832	9
30	04	Cory Roper	Roper Racing	Ford	31.668	170.519	18
31	51	Drew Dollar	Kyle Busch Motorsports	Toyota	31.750	170.079	5
32	22	Austin Wayne Self	AM Racing	Chevrolet	31.780	169.918	17
33	34	C.J. McLaughlin	Reaume Brothers Racing	Toyota	32.146	167.984	10
34	14	Trey Hutchens	Trey Hutchens Racing	Chevrolet	32.172	167.848	15
35	3	Keith McGee	Jordan Anderson Racing	Chevrolet	32.243	167.478	12
36	20	Spencer Boyd	Young’s Motorsports	Chevrolet	32.637	165.456	7
37	10	Jennifer Jo Cobb	Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing	Ford	33.304	162.143	10
38	33	Akinori Ogata	Reaume Brothers Racing	Chevrolet	33.635	160.547	1