MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The final NASCAR Cup Series practice of the season was a twilight affair as the sun set over Phoenix Raceway Friday night.
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the one-hour session with a fast lap of 27.520 seconds around the one-mile Phoenix Raceway in the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. That was just a tick ahead of Bubba Wallace’s 27.549 in the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing.
But the focus was on the Championship 4 drivers who will fight amongst themselves for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Ryan Blaney of Team Penske was the fastest of the Championship 4 at 27.602 in the No. 12 Ford Mustang, third overall. That was just a bit faster than fellow Championship hopeful Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing, who was fourth at 27.612 in the No. 20 Toyota.
William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports, who advanced into the Championship Race through points, was seventh in the No. 24 Chevrolet at 27.690.
In the final 10 minutes of practice, Larson was searching for the high arc in the turns and nearly brushed the wall. He didn’t damage the No. 5 Chevrolet, but it did create a moment of concern for his team. Larson was trying to enhance his angle of the corner in the search for speed.
Larson finished 10th in speed with a lap at 27.725 seconds in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Bell has the best 10-lap average speed at 27.779 followed by Blaney’s 27.797 and Byron was third at 27.870.
Larson was also 10th in the 10-lap average time at 27.962.
This was the only practice for the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. Qualifications are set for Saturday late afternoon with the Championship Race to end the season on Sunday.
The highest finishing driver in the Championship 4 wins the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.