RADIO
The NASCAR Cup Series ran a single practice session at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Saturday morning in preparation for the upcoming Echopark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
The 36-car field was split into two groups for this practice session. Below you'll find the two practice groups, key notes from the practice session and the practice speeds for all drivers.
This practice session was also a little different than what we're used to, as it was extended. Both Groups each got a total of 40 minutes of practice today. They alternated 20-minute sessions, which allowed drivers and teams to adjust a bit and get more dialed-in as the overall session went on.
Important Practice Notes
Drivers Spinning Out - Plenty of drivers spun out during practice on Saturday morning, but none of them had any major damage to report. Chances are, they were just testing out the limits of the track and/or got loose and lost it. Some of the drivers that spun include Tyler Reddick, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, and Ross Chastain. There is nothing to worry about regarding these drivers.
Kaulig Racing - Kaulig Racing will have three cars on the track for this weekend's race at Circuit of the Americas. Shane van Gisbergen will be in the No. 16 Chevrolet while Daniel Hemric remains in his typical No. 31 Chevrolet. AJ Allmendinger is driving the No. 13 Chevrolet. It is worth noting that van Gisbergen is receiving technical alliance help from Trackhouse Racing, which, as an organization overall, has been very fast at COTA.
Ty Gibbs - This kid is fast once again this weekend. We've been talking about Ty Gibbs knocking on the door of his first win for a while, and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team brought the speed for him to do it this weekend. Gibbs was super fast off of the truck and ended up with the second-fastest single lap and the best five-lap average during practice.
2024 COTA EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Practice Speed Chart
Click here to download the PDF of the practice speed chart.
| Pos | Driver | Time | Speed | Fastest Lap | Laps Ran | Behind Leader |
| 1. | William Byron | 129.626 | 94.703 | 14 | 14 | ---.--- |
| 2. | Ty Gibbs | 129.656 | 94.681 | 10 | 16 | -0.030 |
| 3. | Alex Bowman | 130.021 | 94.416 | 13 | 13 | -0.395 |
| 4. | Bubba Wallace | 130.235 | 94.260 | 13 | 13 | -0.609 |
| 5. | Christopher Bell | 130.282 | 94.226 | 15 | 15 | -0.656 |
| 6. | Kyle Busch | 130.413 | 94.132 | 14 | 14 | -0.787 |
| 7. | Ross Chastain | 130.417 | 94.129 | 10 | 15 | -0.791 |
| 8. | Kamui Kobayashi | 130.567 | 94.021 | 10 | 10 | -0.941 |
| 9. | Kyle Larson | 130.623 | 93.980 | 11 | 14 | -0.997 |
| 10. | Shane Van Gisbergen | 130.669 | 93.947 | 13 | 15 | -1.043 |
| 11. | Corey LaJoie | 130.677 | 93.942 | 13 | 14 | -1.051 |
| 12. | Tyler Reddick | 130.888 | 93.790 | 5 | 11 | -1.262 |
| 13. | Austin Cindric | 130.915 | 93.771 | 9 | 13 | -1.289 |
| 14. | Chase Briscoe | 131.017 | 93.698 | 15 | 15 | -1.391 |
| 15. | Martin Truex Jr. | 131.069 | 93.661 | 17 | 17 | -1.443 |
| 16. | Ryan Blaney | 131.076 | 93.656 | 13 | 18 | -1.450 |
| 17. | AJ Allmendinger | 131.179 | 93.582 | 9 | 12 | -1.553 |
| 18. | Chris Buescher | 131.239 | 93.539 | 13 | 16 | -1.613 |
| 19. | Joey Logano | 131.292 | 93.502 | 15 | 15 | -1.666 |
| 20. | Chase Elliott | 131.294 | 93.500 | 14 | 15 | -1.668 |
| 21. | Justin Haley | 131.327 | 93.477 | 8 | 13 | -1.701 |
| 22. | Ryan Preece | 131.342 | 93.466 | 12 | 13 | -1.716 |
| 23. | Noah Gragson | 131.353 | 93.458 | 11 | 17 | -1.727 |
| 24. | Daniel Suarez | 131.410 | 93.418 | 7 | 16 | -1.784 |
| 25. | Austin Dillon | 131.444 | 93.393 | 15 | 15 | -1.818 |
| 26. | Michael McDowell | 131.502 | 93.352 | 12 | 16 | -1.876 |
| 27. | Todd Gilliland | 131.685 | 93.223 | 11 | 17 | -2.059 |
| 28. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 131.737 | 93.186 | 8 | 11 | -2.111 |
| 29. | Carson Hocevar | 131.747 | 93.179 | 10 | 15 | -2.121 |
| 30. | Brad Keselowski | 131.792 | 93.147 | 14 | 15 | -2.166 |
| 31. | John Hunter Nemechek | 131.864 | 93.096 | 8 | 17 | -2.238 |
| 32. | Zane Smith | 131.923 | 93.054 | 11 | 16 | -2.297 |
| 33. | Denny Hamlin | 132.132 | 92.907 | 13 | 17 | -2.506 |
| 34. | Kaz Grala | 132.137 | 92.904 | 8 | 11 | -2.511 |
| 35. | Harrison Burton | 132.188 | 92.868 | 12 | 12 | -2.562 |
| 36. | Josh Berry | 132.490 | 92.656 | 15 | 15 | -2.864 |
| 37. | Erik Jones | 132.906 | 92.366 | 5 | 12 | -3.280 |
| 38. | Daniel Hemric | 132.956 | 92.331 | 4 | 13 | -3.330 |
| 39. | Timmy Hill | 137.918 | 89.009 | 4 | 4 | -8.292 |
2024 COTA EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix 5-Lap Average Chart
| Rank | Driver | Avg Time |
| 1. | Ty Gibbs | 130.833 |
| 2. | Kyle Larson | 131.423 |
| 3. | Michael McDowell | 131.703 |
| 4. | Chase Briscoe | 131.745 |
| 5. | Christopher Bell | 131.844 |
| 6. | Joey Logano | 131.895 |
| 7. | Noah Gragson | 131.923 |
| 8. | Ryan Blaney | 131.928 |
| 9. | Martin Truex, Jr. | 131.942 |
| 10. | Todd Gilliland | 132.003 |
| 11. | Daniel Suarez | 132.228 |
| 12. | Kyle Busch | 132.310 |
| 13. | Zane Smith | 132.334 |
| 14. | Austin Dillon | 132.369 |
| 15. | John Hunter Nemechek | 132.392 |
| 16. | Alex Bowman | 132.449 |
| 17. | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | 132.579 |
| 18. | Denny Hamlin | 132.763 |
| 19. | Kaz Grala | 134.127 |
| 20. | Ross Chastain | 134.182 |
| 21. | Chase Elliott | 134.596 |
| 22. | Josh Berry | 135.297 |
| 23. | Daniel Hemric | 135.803 |
| 24. | Chris Buescher | 137.020 |
| 25. | Brad Keselowski | 138.835 |
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