Christopher Bell tops Brickyard 400 practice at Indy

Christopher Bell set the pace in Friday’s final NASCAR Cup Series practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400, turning a lap of 183.512 mph in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Toyota swept the top five positions, with John Hunter Nemechek second, Ty Gibbs third, Erik Jones fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth. Kyle Larson was the fastest Chevrolet in sixth and Ryan Blaney was the fastest Ford in ninth. Larson also posted the best 10-lap average at 180.485 mph, followed by William Byron, Chris Buescher and Hamlin.

The 50-minute session also featured problems for Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric and Ryan Preece, and sources said the incidents involved Shane van Gisbergen as well. Wallace hit the Turn 1 wall and finished 20th. The field was scheduled to return Saturday for Busch Light Pole Qualifying, with the Brickyard 400 set for Sunday. The race also featured the $1 million In-Season Challenge final between Blaney and Todd Gilliland.

In O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice for the Pennzoil 250, Ross Chastain led the session in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet at 168.171 mph. JR Motorsports drivers Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil followed in second and third, and Kvapil posted the fastest 10-lap average at 164.848 mph.