INDIANAPOLIS – Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest driver during practice for the inaugural Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday morning.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s best time around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile, IMS road course was 98.02 mph.
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William Byron was second in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 97.487 mph. Kyle Larson, who along with Chase Elliott are considered the favorites to win on the IMS road course, was third at 97.445 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.Â
Larson is also set to compete in the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway, where he’ll start third.
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Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was fourth followed by Austin Cindric’s No. 33 Team Penske Ford.
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The only incident in the only practice session came with less than four minutes left when Bubba Wallace locked up the brakes and pulled off course. Practice was briefly stopped as a result.Â
Qualifying for the Pennzoil 200 takes place Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by the race at 1 p.m. EST.