On Thursday afternoon at Bristol, Nationwide Series points leader Chase Elliott would lead the first practice for the Food City 300, while Kyle Larson would lead the second and final practice.
Elliott led the first practice with a lap of 15.559 seconds in his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. The second generation driver enters this weekend leading the point standings by 10 points over his JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith. Elliott is hoping for a solid run on Friday night to keep the points lead after finishing ninth at Bristol in the spring.
Kyle Busch was second, just 0.054 seconds off of Elliott, as he searches for his fourth straight Bristol Nationwide Series victory. The victory would be huge for Joe Gibbs Racing as they lost valuable points in the owner’s battle at Mid-Ohio, with the No. 54 Monster Energy Drink Toyota now sitting 21 points behind Team Penske’s No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang.
Kevin Harvick hopes to find victory lane once again this season after posting the third quickest time in the first practice. Harvick has won two races this season already and looks to keep a trend going for JR Motorsports that has seen them win each of the Friday night races so far this year in 2014.
Brian Scott, who has been solid week-in-week-out, was fourth quickest with Ryan Blaney rounding out the top-five in the No. 22 Mustang. Larson was sixth, followed by Smith, Ty Dillon, Dylan Kwasniewski and Trevor Bayne.
In the final practice, Larson would top the charts in his No. 42 ENEOS Chevrolet with a lap of 15.312 seconds. Larson is hoping to break through at Bristol after posting a pair of runner-up finishes to Busch in his last three starts. Busch was second, 0.097 seconds behind Larson. Scott was third, followed by Blaney and Elliott.
Road America winner Brendan Gaughan was sixth, followed by Cale Conway, Smith, Dillon and Bayne. Notably, Richard Childress Racing had all four of their cars in the top-nine during the final practice with Scott leading the way.
Qualifying for the Food City 300 is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. EDT, with the race scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT. The race will be broadcast on ESPN.
