By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
It was a rare and unique practice session on Saturday morning, just hours ahead of tonight’s Monster Energy Open and All-Star event.
After less than five minutes of practice on Friday, NASCAR elected to open the track for one 60-minute session on Saturday morning to allow teams to shake down the new aero package being used at Charlotte.
Kyle Larson was fastest in the only practice session, running around the 1.5-mile facility at 173.305 mph.
Joey Logano, who was 16th in the practice, was happy that teams were able to get the one-hour practice session. As the practice session progressed, Logano noticed that everyone had worked on the handling of their cars.
“I think everyone really worked on their cars a lot from what the first run was to closer toward the end. I think at first no one knew what was going to happen. We didn’t know if the tandem would be in play or a big pack or if handling would come into play,” Logano said after practice.
Under a normal rules package at Charlotte, having fresher tires will be crucial, especially in the draft.
“As tires fall off the cars that can’t quite hold the bottom as well or really can’t keep the throttle down on the top will start to get passed. We saw in practice with cars that came out with new tires it was such a mixed bag to give it a fair read. It is hard to say because you had cars out there on 20-lap tires and cars on new tires and everything in between,” Logano continued.
It is believed that teams could run around Charlotte wide-open for the entire run. However, that is not the case. As tire degradation occurs and you approach a car in the front, there will be time to lift off the throttle.
After drafting practice, Logano believes that the front of the field will be the place to be. Logano understands that as the business picks up, things will get crazy.
“It is going to get crazy. We are going to crash some stuff tonight. I think that is pretty apparent. In practice, we were all pretty good at giving each other some room and making sure our cars are — at least we have a car for later on. I think towards the end of this race when business picks up,” Logano said.
Despite the sole practice session, Logano and teams are still facing a great unknown heading into the evening festivities.