Erik Jones Fastest in Final Coca-Cola 600 Practice

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor

CONCORD, N.C. – Following an early morning rain storm, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had just one practice session on Saturday morning to complete their preparations for NASCAR’s longest night, the Coca-Cola 600.

When all was said and done, Joe Gibbs Racing’s sophomore driver, Erik Jones, led the way in his Toyota with a lap of 28.870 seconds, 187.045 mph, around Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle Larson clocked in second, 0.059 seconds behind Jones on the time sheet.

Jones also had the fastest 10-lap average in the practice session after running 50 total laps. He qualified fourth for Sunday’s race and finished seventh in last year’s running of the Coca-Cola 600.

Rounding out the remainder of the top-10 was Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne, and Jamie McMurray.

Kevin Harvick, who has to start from the back of the pack in Sunday’s race, clocked in 17^th, with polesitter Kyle Busch only managing the 18^th fastest lap in the practice session.

Other notables further down in practice included Brad Keselowski in 22^nd, Alex Bowman in 24^th, and Matt Kenseth in 30^th.