It was the Kyle and Kyle show in Friday afternoon’s final Sprint Cup practice for Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Or maybe we should call it a half-practice, as only 21 drivers took part in Happy Hour.
The speeds were significantly slower than the morning practice – by more than 5 mph – when Clint Bowyer topped the field at 200.385 mph.
MORE: Clint Bowyer leads first Sprint Cup practice at Talladega
As for the afternoon practice, Kyle Busch was the fastest at 195.205 mph, followed by rookie Kyle Larson (195.118 mph).
Two other drivers surpassed 195 mph: Kasey Kahne (195.106) and Jeff Gordon 195.015).
Because of the small field, there were surprising speed performances from several drivers: Casey Mears was fifth-fastest (194.983), as well as Reed Sorenson (194.856), Denny Hamlin (194.393), Joe Nemechek (194.176), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (194.082) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (192.827).
The rest of the field was:
11 Justin Allgaier 192.820 mph
12 Ryan Blaney 192.816
13 Josh Wise 191.804
14 Matt Kenseth 191.562
15 Jimmie Johnson 189.947
16 Mike Wallace 189.936
17 Brad Keselowski 189.684
18 Danica Patrick 189.193
19 Michael Annett 188.159
20 Greg Biffle 187.964
21 Joey Logano 160.510
Logano made only one lap, so his speed is not too concerning.
But Johnson’s speed is. The defending and six-time Sprint Cup champ is in a must-win situation Sunday to advance to the Eliminator Round.
Of course, also in must-win situations are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth.
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