Chris Buescher only driver to eclipse 170 mph in Thursday’s second Nationwide Series practice at Darlington

In his first full season on the Nationwide Series, Chris Buescher was the fastest in Thursday’s second NASCAR NNS practice session at Darlington Raceway for Friday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 race.

The 21-year-old Roush Fenway Racing driver was the only driver to both exceed 169 mph and 170 mph, clocking in at 170.365 mph.

After failing to qualify for the NNS season-opener at Daytona, Buescher has finished 15th, 9th, 16th, 14th and 27th in his last five starts. He is ranked 11th in the Nationwide points standings heading into Friday night’s race at Darlington.

Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch was second-fastest at 168.758 mph, followed by Ty Dillon (168.469), Trevor Bayne (168.296) and last week’s winner at Texas, Chase Elliott (168.117).

Texas Sprint Cup race winner Joey Logano, who was the fastest in the first practice session Thursday afternoon, was seventh-fastest in the second session.

Here’s how Thursday’s second Nationwide Series practice session played out:

1 Chris Buescher 170.365 mph

2 Kyle Busch 168.578

3 Ty Dillon 168.469

4 Trevor Bayne 168.296

5 Chase Elliott 168.117

6 Brian Scott 168.031

7 Joey Logano 168.025

8 Kyle Larson 167.705

9 Matt Kenseth 167.442

10 Kevin Harvick 167.197

11 Elliott Sadler 167.072

12 Regan Smith 167.010

13 Cole Conley 166.862

14 Ryan Reed 166.721

15 Brendan Gaughan 166.309

16 David Starr 166.259

17 JJ Yeley 165.531

18 Landon Cassill 165.275

19 Dakoda Armstrong 165.148

20 Jeremy Clements 164.948

21 Ryan Sieg 164.948

22 Dylan Kwasniewski 164.749

23 James Buescher 164.689

24 Mike Wallace 163.936

25 Mike Bliss 163.664

26 Tanner Berryhill 163.132

27 Josh Wise 162.883

28 Kevin LePage 162.485

29 Eric McClure 162.292

30 Todd Bodine 161.694

31 Matt DiBenedetto 161.524

32 Jeffrey Earnhardt 160.769

33 Tommy Joe Martins 160.318

34 Carlos Contreras 160.151

35 Derrike Cope 159.652

36 Matt Carter 157.889

37 Blake Koch 157.303

38 Joey Gase 157.252

39 Mike Harmon 151.199

Follow me @JerryBonkowski

Ed Carpenter Racing has signed 2019 Indy Lights runner-up Rinus VeeKay to drive the full 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season, the team announced Wednesday.

VeeKay will drive the No. 21 Chevrolet previously occupied by Spencer Pigot.

“I’m so happy!” the 19-year-old driver from the Netherlands said in a press release. “It’s a dream come true and something we have worked extremely hard for over the last couple of years. To step up from USF2000 to the NTT IndyCar Series in three years is really special.”

In his maiden Indy Lights season this year, VeeKay collected six race victories and seven pole potions. VeeKay previously won the 2018 Indy Pro 2000 championship, and finished second in the 2017 USF2000 standings.

VeeKay’s success in the ladder series caught the attention of Carpenter, who gave VeeKay the opportunity to first test for the team at Portland International Raceway in August.

“I have been following Rinus’s path through the Road to Indy, especially the past two years,” Carpenter said. “It was clear to me that he deserves to be in an Indy car. After his first day in a car at Portland this past season, that feeling became even more apparent. His pace, feedback and demeanor inside the car was very impressive for such a young driver.”

As a driver, Carpenter will be VeeKay’s teammate during the five oval races in 2020, once again returning to the team’s No. 20 entry. An announcement on which driver will pilot the No. 20 on the road and street circuits will be made at a later time.

Follow Michael Eubanks on Twitter