BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kurt Busch was fastest in both of Saturday’s practice sessions for Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 and got the added bonus of different weather conditions during each warm-up.
He turned the day’s only 200 mph lap on a warm Saturday morning and turned in a 197.368 fast lap during the overcast final Sprint Cup period.
“We obviously feel good about our car after being fastest in all three practice sessions,” Busch said. “But it’s one thing to be fast in practice by yourself and another to be fast in race traffic and with the rubber buildup.
“Right now it’s about making the right adjustments under race conditions.”
He’ll start his No. 78 Chevy on the front row of Sunday’s race next to pole winner Carl Edwards.
The two fastest cars in pole qualifying stayed that way during Saturday’s early Sprint Cup practice session after Busch recorded a lap of 200.955 and Edwards clocked in at 199.595 mph. Speeds were slower in the late period, when Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 Chevy was five-hundredths of a second off Busch’s hot lap.
Kahne will start sixth Sunday.
Tony Stewart brushed the wall in turn 2 during Friday’s first practice but Saturday’s outings came and went without incident.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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