Ty Gibbs paced Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway at 124.719 mph (15.385 seconds).
Gibbs ran 94 laps in practice. He led a contingent of Cup Series playoff contenders who were inside the top 10 in the session.
Ryan Blaney was second fastest at 124.018 mph and Kyle Larson was third fastest at 123.897 mph. William Byron was fourth fastest at 123.897 mph and Chase Elliott completed top five at 123.833 mph.
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Bubba Wallace was the first non-playoff driver on the speed chart. Wallace was sixth-fastest at 123.698 mph. Christopher Bell (123.507 mph), Chase Briscoe (123.499 mph), and Alex Bowman (123.475 mph) were seventh, eighth, and ninth fastest. Carson Hocevar, a non-playoff driver, completed the top 10 (123.411 mph).
The rest of the playoff drivers in practice were Joey Logano (11th), Martin Truex Jr. (15th), Austin Cindric (19th), Brad Keselowski (20th), Harrison Burton (21st), Denny Hamlin (24th), Tyler Reddick (30th), and Daniel Suarez (36th).
Hamlin is the defending winner of the Bristol night race. He’s won the last two consecutive Cup Series races at Bristol.
There were no issues in practice. It was halted once for debris.
William Byron and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran the most laps in practice (111).
Ryan Blaney paced the best 10-consecutive lap average. It was Blaney over Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, and Harrison Burton.