Dale Earnhardt Jr. tops speed charts in first practice for Sprint Unlimited - MotorSportsTalk

Can you say, “Junior, Junior, Junior!”?

If anyone doubts that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is more determined than he’s ever been to not only win his first Sprint Cup championship but also to send Steve Letarte out a winner in his final year as a NASCAR crew chief before moving to an analyst role on NBC Sports in 2015, think again.

The winner of the 2004 Daytona 500 made it very clear Friday in the first practice session for Saturday’s Sprint Unlimited that he intends on going fast and – more importantly – win in 2014.

Earnhardt topped the 18-driver field late Saturday afternoon with a best lap of 198.421 mph on the 20th of 30 laps he turned in practice.

Kyle Busch, who many media members are predicting as perhaps Jimmie Johnson’s biggest challenge for the 2014 Sprint Cup championship, was second-fastest at 198.255 mph, turning his fast lap on the 21st of 30 laps. The younger Busch brother and Earnhardt were the only drivers to complete 30 laps of practice.

In total, six drivers eclipsed the 198 mph mark, with the other four being: Kurt Busch (198.124), Kevin Harvick (198.111), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (198.094) and Matt Kenseth (198.024).

In his first appearance in a race car since his horrific crash in a sprint car last August 5, Tony Stewart did very well, all things considered, turning a best lap of 197.377 mph, good for 10th in the session.

Danica Patrick, who won the pole for last year’s Daytona 500, was right behind her boss and Stewart Haas Racing teammate with the 11th fastest speed at 197.118 mph.

Surprisingly – or could it be a case of sandbagging – Johnson was the slowest with a top lap of just 190.359 mph in 12 total laps.

Check back with NBCSports.com’s MotorSportsTalk again later this evening for results of the second practice session.

Here’s the top lap speeds for all 18 drivers:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 198.421 mph

2. Kyle Busch 198.255

3. Kurt Busch 198.124

4. Kevin Harvick 198.111

5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 198.094

6. Matt Kenseth 198.024

7. Ryan Newman 197.954

8. Marcos Ambrose 197.850

9. Denny Hamlin 197.420

10. Tony Stewart 197.377

11. Danica Patrick 197.118

12. Carl Edwards 197.096

13. Joey Logano 196.846

14. Brad Keselowski 196.812

15. Jamie McMurray 196.812

16. Jeff Gordon 196.730

17. Terry Labonte 190.852

18. Jimmie Johnson 190.359

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Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

More SuperMotocross coverage

How to Watch Seattle Supercross
Dylan Ferrandis may return before SX finale
SMX develops “Leader Lights”
Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points

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