Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney certainly made a championship statement Friday afternoon besting the field in opening practice at the Phoenix Raceway one-miler in both single lap speed and 10-lap and 15-lap average.
Qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship race (3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is set for Saturday afternoon and the four championship-eligible drivers no doubt took advantage of Friday’s 50-minute session.
Team Penske’s Blaney paced the field with a lap of 129.356 mph in the No. 12 Ford Mustang. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron was next fastest in the No. 24 Chevrolet (fourth overall) with Blaney’s Penske teammate Joey Logano ninth and regular season champion Tyler Reddick 21st on the speed chart in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. Logano’s 60 laps was the most run among the title four.
Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler wasn’t too surprised the car showed speed immediately and said certainly, the practice session was a confidence-builder.
“I felt pretty strongly coming to this week that we’d be able have some speed but you never know for sure in this sport, or the times you do are few and far between,” Hassler said of his defending champion team. “So, a little bit of relief. That’s where we expected to be, but you never really know until the number goes on the board.
“It certainly invigorates the whole team to see our number there at the top of the board,” he added. “And I think everyone on this team is confident that we could go and contend for another championship but it certainly gives some extra pep in everybody’s step.”
On the other side of Friday’s speed chart, Reddick’s crew chief Billy Scott did not seem overly concerned with his team’s outing. He said they intended to review the outing but was going to be careful not to “over-think.” His team won the regular season title and won its way into the Championship 4 race with a dramatically-won Homestead-Miami trophy.
And, it has a unique asset in the pits: NBA legend Michael Jordan, a co-owner of the 23XI Racing team.
“His presence in itself is very inspiring – obviously he’s one of the most competitive people you’d ever meet in anything he does so just having them there, we certainly want to make him proud,” Scott said. “But he’s also an avid fan and learning everything he can about the sport. He’s very intuitive of what’s going on. He understands everything from the strategy to the set-ups to motivating people. Every now and then he’ll speak up at the right time and it certainly goes a long way in having a little bit of extra motivation.
“Certainly he wants to win this, absolutely. I cannot even imagine what it’s like when he’s been so successful at the highest level of his sport for so long – the greatest, arguably of all time. So to see that enthusiasm back in him when he’s been there for the couple wins he’s witnessed in person. It’s very rewarding and cool to see the genuine joy he gets.”
Qualifying for the Championship Race is set for Saturday at 5:05 p.m. ET (USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and NBC Sports App).
Byron is the defending race polesitter and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain is the defending race winner. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell won at Phoenix this Spring.
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