Martin Truex Jr. topped the board in the lone NASCAR Cup Series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Truex posted a lap of 98.021 mph in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to pace the practice. In fact, he was one of two JGR cars in the top five for the session ahead of Sunday’s race at Indianapolis (1 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“We ended up first, and I’m really happy with the car,” Truex said after the session. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what it brings.”
William Byron took second in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (97.487 mph) followed by Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (97.445 mph). Truex’s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin (97.148 mph) took fourth while Team Penske’s Austin Cindric closed out the top five (97.137 mph) in what will be his final Cup start of the season before he goes full time with Team Penske in 2022.
Larson, who was last week’s winner at Watkins Glen, is locked in a battle atop the standings with Hamlin for the regular-season championship as the two are tied with the Hendrick driver holding the top spot on a tiebreaker thanks to his five wins to Hamlin’s zero.
RELATED: Practice results | Indianapolis weekend schedule | Qualifying order
AJ Allmendinger, who won the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, had a potential transmission issue early in practice, according to NBC’s coverage on TrackPass. However, he was able to get back on track for more laps with about 20 minutes to go and placed 16th in the session. Allmendinger is driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this weekend — a car that is running a limited schedule before going full-time in the Cup Series for 2022.
Road-course ace Chase Elliott placed 23rd in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The reigning Cup Series champion has seven road-course wins in his Cup career with two of them coming on tracks new to the circuit this season with victories at Circuit of The Americas and Road America.
Bubba Wallace got off course with about five minutes left in the session to bring out the lone caution period of the 50-minute session. Wallace has yet to score a top-10 finish on a road course in his Cup career.
Andy Lally took laps in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford in relief of Kyle Tilley, who sat out practice to rest a shoulder injury, according to the team’s Twitter account. It was revealed after practice that Lally would fill in for Tilley all weekend in the No. 78 Ford.
Tough decision to make, but I’m stepping out of both the Xfinity & Cup cars this weekend. Big thanks to @AndyLally and @DAV15ON_ for stepping in to help. Gutted, but picked up an injury that needs taking care of.
— Kyle Tilley (@KyleTilley) August 14, 2021
These were the first laps for the Cup Series on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile course. Last year, only the Xfinity Series ran this layout at Indianapolis. Sunday’s Cup race marks the sixth road-course race of the season.
RELATED: Analyzing every turn at Indianapolis | Take a lap with Austin Cindric
The Cup Series will next be on track Sunday morning for qualifying at 9:05 a.m. ET (CNBC/NBC Sports App) ahead of the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at 1 p.m. ET (NBC).
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August 14, 2021 at 11:14PM
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Martin Truex Jr. tops Cup Series practice on Indianapolis Road Course - NASCAR
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