DFS NASCAR: AAA Texas 500 Practice Notes

Final Practice at AAA Texas 500

Texas Motor Speedway

Saturday, November 3 3:00 pm ET

55 minutes in length

Weather

Warmer than race conditions but the wind is stronger this session than the first Saturday session.

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized in this session

Top-20 Speeds (one lap)

Best Average Laps

Items of Note:

• Once again the 18-car is the first one on the track to start the session like he was in the first Saturday session.
• Clint Bowyer doesn’t feel like he’s in a must-win situation this week yet. He still believes that if he gets a good points day on Sunday then he could point his way in based on Phoenix
• Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick are seeing how their cars are in dirty and clean air this practice by swapping places on the track with 40 minutes left in the session.
• With 35 minutes left in practice Kevin Harvick has the fastest lap, five-lap average, 10-lap average, 15-lap average
• The lap times this practice are slower than they were this morning and the track is getting slicker and less grip this session which will make the race on Sunday even tougher
• Kyle Busch is focused on what Harvick is doing in terms of line around the track in order to compare himself against the best car this weekend.
• The tires are showing very little wear after even near 25-lap runs and slightly more wear is showing on the left side than the right which is different than normal.
• With 28 minutes left in the session, Paul Menard took over the top lap time from the 4-car and he ran inside the top-10 in early practice too.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. put down the fastest lap of the day as he took over the top spot in Final Practice and that lap came as the 15th of a 16-lap run
• Martin Truex Jr. thinks his car has improved in this practice but he was just a bit tight in his last run.
• Joey Logano ran a 30-lap run in his last time on the track and the car looked good and consistent in that span as that is pretty close to a green flag run length for the race
• Ryan Blaney says he is struggling in race trim and the car is really tight when he’s around other cars as he’s been all day on Saturday as they just can’t get the balance sorted out.
• Clint Bowyer and Chase Elliott are both going out for the last runs of practice on sticker tires instead of scuffs so they can get an idea of what it will feel like for the start of the race.
• The Happy Hour speeds topped out at 192 mph and by the end of practice it was down to 186 for most drivers as the track warmed up and the tires fell off a bit.

Second Practice at AAA Texas 500

Texas Motor Speedway

Saturday November 3rd, 12:30 pm ET

55 minutes in length

Weather

Weather for this practice is most similar to race conditions tomorrow except for the wind that is going nuts at more than 20 mph steadily and stronger gusts than that.

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized this session

Top-20 Speeds (one lap)

Best Average Laps

Items of Note:

• Seconds into practice starting a most drivers have gotten on the track already and everyone is in race trim for this one with qualifying over on Friday night
• Parker Kligerman who is normally on the NBC broadcast crew is racing this weekend and told the NBC crew that this is one of the more challenging 1.5-mile track on the schedule
• The challenge at the track comes from the near 20mph difference between the two ends of the track between the banking of 20 degrees in Turns 1 & 2 and 24 degrees in Turns 3 & 4
• The wind is blowing into the right side of the car in Turns 1 & 2 which helps the side force and downforce in that corner but it is blowing on the left side of the car and trying to push it out of the groove in Turns 3 & 4.
• The wind direction will make it harder to determine the balance of the car for the race tomorrow especially with the direction it’s blowing
• Kurt Busch said his car had an awkward transition trying to get into Turn 1 as he crossed across the middle of the track into the apex of the turn. He’s also frustrated that he has had very good finishes the last few races and he’s still 25 points below the cutline
• Compared to Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick has run the fastest average laps of those three and in fact he’s got the best 10-lap average with half of practice left in this session.
• Brad Keselowski says the Turn 3 & 4 corner is hard to hold with the wind today and the new tires are wearing in kind of a reverse fashion with the left sides wearing more than the right sides but the grip hasn’t been great on them where if you aren’t glued to the bottom it gets dicey in a hurry.
• The speeds with 20 minutes left in the practice are markedly slower than they were yesterday at practice and at qualifying. 193.85 mph is the highest speed this practice whereas it was in the upper 198 range yesterday at practice.
• Kyle Busch is operating on the approach that at least one team will make the Championship race based on points alone and with them being atop the points right now they are simply trying to stay there to make the race in Miami in two weeks.
• Ryan Blaney is trying to improve the balance and it’s really loose in Turn 1 and really tight through the center of the corner. They are making big changes to the car right now. The concern though is that the wind may be effecting that somewhat however it should be helping him today with its direction so that may mean that he’s really loose tomorrow without the help of the wind.
• Kurt Busch said on the previous run that he felt the car was well connected around the track but he was curious how the car would handle a long-run. With 10 minutes to go in the session he is out on scuffed tires on a long-run to see exactly what the tires and/or changes on the car are doing. He has three top-10s in the last three races since the reconfiguring of the track
• Chase Elliott says he has no turn off when he gets back on the gas and the fire off speed isn’t great even on new tires. He did say his car stayed in the track better this time but that’s the only real improvement. The HMS cars are all 16th-23rd in the session.
• Aric Almirola is the fastest single lap speed and has had to make minimal changes to the car this practice as he is very happy with the car.
• Kevin Harvick isn’t happy with the car but the speed is there for the long run averages

First Practice for AAA Texas 500

Texas Motor Speedway

Friday, November 2 2:00 pm ET

55 minutes in length

Penalized Drivers

No drivers were penalized this session

Top-20 Speeds (one lap)

Best Average Laps

No driver ran 10-consecutive laps in this session

Items of Note:

• Most guys will be in qualifying trim this practice with qualifying being later today.
• New tire compounds this week from Goodyear with a big change to the right side tire and a slightly different left side tire than they used in April here
• 27 of the last 28 races this season have been won by playoff eligible drivers.
• Martin Truex Jr. got loose into Turn 3 and the balance appears to be off right now and is causing him to not go full throttle putting him ninth on the speed charts with 42 minutes left in the session.
• Trevor Bayne is in the 6-car for the last time this weekend and may be looking to prove himself in order to get a new ride for next year
• The 2017 repave/reconfiguration widened Turn 1 and 2 from 58 feet wide to 78 feet wide and the banking was lowered. The two different banking angles mean the setup needs to be specific for this track.
• About halfway through the session Ryan Blaney is tops on the speed chart at nearly 199 mph average around the track.
• Kevin Harvick ran the sixth fastest lap with 24 minutes left in the session but there was quite a bit of improvement that can happen with room to get into the throttle more and a little balance improvement.
• Numerous drivers are saying they can’t feel the car with the new tires on the car. They feel like it is very hard almost like there is too much air in them.
• The new tire is supposed to put down more rubber and have more wear on it than the previous tires have and the groove might be wider this week than in the past.
• Aric Almirola is sitting fifth on the speed charts with 10 minutes left and feels very good about his car but said it’s just a little tight in Turns 3 & 4 but flies through Turns 1 & 2.