RADIO
The NASCAR Cup Series ran a single practice session at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday afternoon in preparation for the upcoming Xfinity 500 on Sunday afternoon.
The 37-car field had a combined 45-minute session to test things out this weekend due to a brand new tire combination being debuted at Martinsville this weekend. Goodyear's goal with this new tire combination was to create more tire falloff during long runs.
From what we saw in practice, it seems as though the Cup teams will, in fact, have to manage tire wear on Sunday.
Truex ran his fastest lap on lap 34 (19.918s). On lap 85 (and I think this is a single run on a single set of tires), he posted a 21.353s. That's 1.435 seconds in 51 laps
— Diandra (@drdiandra) November 2, 2024
Important Practice Notes
Denny Hamlin - Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota was the victim of a stuck throttle, which caused Denny to spin out and slam into the wall. His car was really fast before that, though, so the Joe Gibbs Racing team decided to fix the primary car instead of going to a backup.
There's trouble for @dennyhamlin! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ulJmTbKz4Y
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 2, 2024
Christopher Bell - During practice, Christopher Bell noted that he feels more prepared for Martinsville this weekend than he ever has at a previous race here. He had the best 30-lap average during the session.
William Byron - Even though the No. 24 Chevrolet was only 11th-fastest on the speed chart, William Byron said he had an "awesome" race car. He's the defending winner here at Martinsville.
2024 Martinsville Xfinity 500 Practice Speed Chart
Click here to download the PDF of the practice speed chart.
| Pos | Driver | Time | Speed | Fastest Lap | Laps Ran |
Behind Leader
|
| 1. | Martin Truex Jr. | 19.918 | 95.070 | 34 | 85 | ---.--- |
| 2. | Corey LaJoie | 19.935 | 94.989 | 37 | 47 | -0.017 |
| 3. | Denny Hamlin | 19.957 | 94.884 | 4 | 33 | -0.039 |
| 4. | Christopher Bell | 19.963 | 94.856 | 49 | 94 | -0.045 |
| 5. | Chase Elliott | 19.967 | 94.837 | 3 | 94 | -0.049 |
| 6. | Ty Gibbs | 19.977 | 94.789 | 4 | 67 | -0.059 |
| 7. | Chase Briscoe | 19.998 | 94.690 | 49 | 83 | -0.080 |
| 8. | Todd Gilliland | 19.999 | 94.685 | 3 | 80 | -0.081 |
| 9. | Austin Dillon | 20.042 | 94.482 | 36 | 76 | -0.124 |
| 10. | Daniel Suarez | 20.046 | 94.463 | 4 | 89 | -0.128 |
| 11. | William Byron | 20.061 | 94.392 | 15 | 64 | -0.143 |
| 12. | Ross Chastain | 20.072 | 94.340 | 5 | 76 | -0.154 |
| 13. | John Hunter Nemechek | 20.083 | 94.289 | 40 | 51 | -0.165 |
| 14. | Harrison Burton | 20.085 | 94.279 | 3 | 67 | -0.167 |
| 15. | Brad Keselowski | 20.090 | 94.256 | 10 | 47 | -0.172 |
| 16. | Michael McDowell | 20.091 | 94.251 | 5 | 86 | -0.173 |
| 17. | Bubba Wallace | 20.097 | 94.223 | 37 | 98 | -0.179 |
| 18. | Carson Hocevar | 20.099 | 94.214 | 57 | 100 | -0.181 |
| 19. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 20.119 | 94.120 | 3 | 87 | -0.201 |
| 20. | Kyle Busch | 20.123 | 94.101 | 37 | 65 | -0.205 |
| 21. | Ryan Preece | 20.126 | 94.087 | 50 | 91 | -0.208 |
| 22. | Austin Cindric | 20.132 | 94.059 | 48 | 74 | -0.214 |
| 23. | Erik Jones | 20.136 | 94.041 | 36 | 65 | -0.218 |
| 24. | Josh Berry | 20.139 | 94.027 | 5 | 76 | -0.221 |
| 25. | Joey Logano | 20.143 | 94.008 | 5 | 93 | -0.225 |
| 26. | Alex Bowman | 20.147 | 93.989 | 57 | 97 | -0.229 |
| 27. | Justin Haley | 20.150 | 93.975 | 4 | 79 | -0.232 |
| 28. | Shane Van Gisbergen | 20.152 | 93.966 | 8 | 51 | -0.234 |
| 29. | Ryan Blaney | 20.154 | 93.957 | 5 | 103 | -0.236 |
| 30. | Kyle Larson | 20.165 | 93.905 | 6 | 103 | -0.247 |
| 31. | Noah Gragson | 20.171 | 93.877 | 59 | 88 | -0.253 |
| 32. | Zane Smith | 20.178 | 93.845 | 5 | 77 | -0.260 |
| 33. | Kaz Grala | 20.193 | 93.775 | 4 | 57 | -0.275 |
| 34. | Tyler Reddick | 20.193 | 93.775 | 43 | 90 | -0.275 |
| 35. | Daniel Hemric | 20.256 | 93.483 | 54 | 70 | -0.338 |
| 36. | Chris Buescher | 20.270 | 93.419 | 5 | 78 | -0.352 |
| 37. | Josh Bilicki | 20.558 | 92.110 | 14 | 34 | -0.640 |
2024 Martinsville Xfinity 500 10-Lap Average Chart
| Pos | Driver | From Lap | To Lap | Avg Speed |
| 1. | Martin Truex Jr. | 33 | 42 | 94.068 |
| 2. | Denny Hamlin | 4 | 13 | 93.834 |
| 3. | Christopher Bell | 47 | 56 | 93.797 |
| 4. | Chase Elliott | 3 | 12 | 93.792 |
| 5. | Todd Gilliland | 2 | 11 | 93.766 |
| 6. | Daniel Suarez | 3 | 12 | 93.640 |
| 7. | Josh Berry | 2 | 11 | 93.579 |
| 8. | Ty Gibbs | 40 | 49 | 93.569 |
| 9. | Bubba Wallace | 34 | 43 | 93.562 |
| 10. | Ryan Preece | 50 | 59 | 93.519 |
| 11. | Carson Hocevar | 3 | 12 | 93.490 |
| 12. | William Byron | 33 | 42 | 93.454 |
| 13. | Ryan Blaney | 4 | 13 | 93.424 |
| 14. | Joey Logano | 4 | 13 | 93.395 |
| 15. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 1 | 10 | 93.379 |
| 16. | Corey LaJoie | 5 | 14 | 93.374 |
| 17. | Kyle Larson | 3 | 12 | 93.372 |
| 18. | Harrison Burton | 34 | 43 | 93.367 |
| 19. | Tyler Reddick | 41 | 50 | 93.361 |
| 20. | Austin Dillon | 3 | 12 | 93.353 |
| 21. | Chase Briscoe | 48 | 57 | 93.330 |
| 22. | Austin Cindric | 47 | 56 | 93.308 |
| 23. | Erik Jones | 33 | 42 | 93.307 |
| 24. | Zane Smith | 3 | 12 | 93.208 |
| 25. | Michael McDowell | 37 | 46 | 93.206 |
| 26. | Chris Buescher | 3 | 12 | 93.193 |
| 27. | Justin Haley | 2 | 11 | 93.133 |
| 28. | Alex Bowman | 3 | 12 | 93.103 |
| 29. | Ross Chastain | 40 | 49 | 93.063 |
| 30. | Kyle Busch | 34 | 43 | 93.030 |
| 31. | Noah Gragson | 5 | 14 | 92.941 |
| 32. | Kaz Grala | 2 | 11 | 92.883 |
| 33. | Brad Keselowski | 24 | 33 | 92.805 |
| 34. | John Hunter Nemechek | 5 | 14 | 92.718 |
| 35. | Daniel Hemric | 5 | 14 | 92.709 |
| 36. | Shane Van Gisbergen | 29 | 38 | 91.344 |
