NASCAR Cup Series

“That restart was pretty hectic from the beginning with the 78 getting loose and it kind of put everybody in a bad spot, and it wound up with us being in the middle of three-wide into three. It’s so hard to get into that corner all night with a car close to behind you and outside of you, and no one lifting either, and it’s just an unfortunate spot we got put in and I hate to see two really good cars tore up.

“I was just looking at the tire in there. I got loose and hit the wall about 10 laps before that and the car got really loose when you tap the right-rear quarter over. You’re trying to slow down a lot and the brakes started going away and I don’t know what happened after that, if a rotor blew up or what made the tire go down, but the right-front went flat and I was pretty much along for the ride after that.

SPARTA, Ky. -- Carl Edwards topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Kentucky Speedway. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.808 and a speed of 187.448 mph.

The cars are challenging to drive like we thought they would be and like we hoped they would be. The mid-corner speed is way down. The straightaway speed is way up, so that’s a bit of a handful, but the good kind of handful that I think really challenges drivers to push it to the limits.

“I think the racing has been really good. The new rule packages and everything NASCAR has been doing has been good for the sport and I think you’ve seen it at Michigan and then this weekend with a little bit different rules package. I think it’s a step in the right direction, for sure, so the racing has been a lot of fun.

SPARTA, Ky. -- Carl Edwards topped the chart in third Sprint Cup Series practice at Kentucky Speedway Friday. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the third practice session with a time of 28.627 and a speed of 188.633 mph.

SPARTA, Ky. -- Denny Hamlin topped the chart in the rain-shortened second Sprint Cup Series practice at Kentucky Speedway. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.680 and a speed of 188.285 mph.

SPARTA, Ky. -- Despite the unknowns going into this weekend in the Bluegrass State, drivers say this weekend's race will be similar to Michigan.

“We’re in the summer stretch here, obviously, and a lot always seems to happen here. It’s one of my favorite stretches to get into. This track is one that really kind of highlights it for me. It’s been very good to me here at Kentucky Speedway.

When the Wood Brothers’ historic No. 21 Ford takes to the famous 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 24 for the Crown Royal Presents “Your Hero’s Name Here” 400 at the Brickyard, it will have a decidedly different look and a very noble purpose.