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

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

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SPIELBERG, Austria — Valtteri Bottas upstaged Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to take pole position Saturday for the Formula One Austrian GP.

The Finnish driver edged out the world champion by 0.012 seconds to claim the top spot for the season opener at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. He clenched his fist as he climbed out of his car and shared a hug with Hamilton.

“It’s something special when you push the car to the limit,” said Bottas, who is chasing an eighth career win. “Feels so good. It’s very impressive (from the team).”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third, and Lando Norris gave McLaren a boost by finishing fourth. Verstappen has won the past two years here, including 2019 when he started third behind Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

“It’s going to be interesting quite a bit warmer tomorrow and hopefully this will play to our advantage,” Verstappen said. “Today, Mercedes was on a different level, unfortunately. Last year we were also a little bit off in qualifying so I expect we will be a bit better in the race.”

Bottas had the leading time when drivers embarked on their final laps and beat his own mark before sliding off the track into the gravel.

Hamilton was chasing a record-extending 89th career pole. He was ahead but then dropped off slightly as Bottas secured a 12th career pole.

“Great job by Valtteri. It’s a great start to the season,” Hamilton said. “We show year on year that we continue to be the best team. We’re open-minded … constantly learning from each other and pushing the boundaries.”

Ferrari struggled for speed, with Leclerc nearly one second behind in seventh and Sebastian Vettel failing to make it into the third and final part of qualifying, known as Q3. He starts the race from 11th on the grid.

Vettel is leaving Ferrari at the end of the season with his future in F1 uncertain.

Earlier, Hamilton posted the fastest time in morning practice. The 35-year-old British driver was also quickest in both sessions on Friday.

Midway through third practice, F1 newcomer Nicholas Latifi misjudged the exit of a turn and spun his Williams car into a protective tire wall.

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

Valtteri Bottas takes pole position for season-opening Austrian GP