NASCAR made changes to the Talladega rules package following high practice speeds
- After the first of two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice sessions on Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR made some minor adjustments to the rules package
- A one-inch wicker was added to the rear spoiler to, in part, address concerns regarding closing speeds
- Teams were also given the option of changing gears before qualifying on Saturday afternoon
- Sunday’s Cup Series race will be the first for the new superspeedway rules package, which includes the use of a tapered spacer instead of a restrictor plate, a nine-inch rear spoiler, and a one-inch bolt-on track bar mount
- 21 of the 37 cars that took time in the first practice sessions reached speeds of 200 mph or over; 24 of 39 cars did the same in final practice
Additional info: Full story from KTT’s Caleb Whisler … Story from NASCAR.com … Story from AP Sports Writer John Zenor
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Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman lead Talladega practice sessions
- The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had two practice sessions on Friday at Talladega Superspeedway
- Kurt Busch led the first session, with a time of 47.249 seconds at 202.671 mph; David Ragan was second quickest, followed by Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, and Chase Elliott
- Ryan Newman led the second session with a time of 46.905 seconds at 204.157 mph, followed by Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr.; most recent Cup Series winner Martin Truex Jr.; Matt Tifft; and Kyle Busch
- Despite a rules adjustment by NASCAR between practice sessions that was designed to slow the cars down, the speeds actually increased in the second & final practice session
- Stenhouse had the best 10-consecutive lap average of the 29 drivers who made such a run in final practice
Additional info: Complete Practice 1 Results … Full Final Practice Results … Practice recaps
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Ross Chastain, Ryan Sieg lead XFINITY Series practice sessions
- The NASCAR XFINITY Series had two practice sessions on Friday afternoon, their only sessions of the weekend
- Ross Chastain led the first session with a time of 49.417 seconds at 193.779 mph
- Noah Gragson was second quickest followed by Chase Briscoe in third
- Justin Haley and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five
- Ryan Sieg was fastest in the second and final session (50.984 seconds/187.824 mph) followed by Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek, Josh Williams, and Timmy Hill
- Only 13 cars took the track in the final practice session verses 35 in the first
- Of the 13 drivers that ran 10 consecutive laps in first practice, Brett Moffitt had the best average (190.660 mph)
Additional info: Complete Practice 1 Results … Complete Final Practice Results … Full Xfinity Series Practice Session
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Todd Gilliland earns second career ARCA victory in Talladega
- 18-year-old Todd Gilliland won Friday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway in the ARCA Menards Series, his second career victory in eight starts
- Gilliland drives the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota full time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series
- Gilliland led the final 33 laps of the race, holding off second-place Riley Herbst and third-place Brandon Lynn
- Ty Majeski and Michael Self rounded out the top five
- Self now holds the series points lead by five points over Travis Braden
- The next ARCA race is Saturday, May 4 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville
Additional info: Full race recap … Full results … Todd Gilliland career statistics
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Saturday schedule for Talladega Superspeedway
- NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying: 10:10AM ET on FS1
- Press Conferences (Ty Dillon, Roush Fenway Racing): 11:45AM ET on NASCAR.com
- NASCAR Xfinity Series Race: MoneyLion 300 @ 1:00PM ET on FS1
- Post-race Press Conference: 3:30PM ET (approx) on NASCAR.com
- Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying: 4:40PM ET (approx) on FOX
- Post-qualifying press conference: 6:00PM ET on NASCAR.com
Additional info: Full weekend schedule … At-track weekend schedule … NASCAR garage/team weekend schedule
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