DOVER, Del. — official release — Nick Laham/Getty Images North America photo —
Denny Hamlin kept his car at the top of the speed charts in Saturday’s final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, a session cut short by a significant fluid leak at Dover International Speedway.
Hamlin pushed his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota to a best lap of 156.087 mph on the 1-mile concrete track. Hamlin also led Saturday’s early practice and secured the first starting spot with the Coors Light Pole Award in Friday’s qualifying.
As in Saturday’s early session, Hamlin’s JGR teammate Carl Edwards was second-fastest in the No. 19 Toyota with a lap of 155.602 mph. Paul Menard was third-best at 155.206 mph in the Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet.
Matt Kenseth was fourth-fastest and Kyle Busch fifth as Joe Gibbs Racing entries claimed four of the top five spots on the practice leaderboard. Jimmie Johnson, a nine-time Dover winner, logged the sixth-best lap ahead of Sunday’s FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks (1 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).
The final session was originally scheduled for 50 minutes, but a major fluid leak from the rear of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet oiled a large portion of the track. Practice was stopped for approximately 13 minutes for extensive clean-up.
Race officials added five minutes to the end of the session to make up for the red flag.
Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick, the standings leader, was seventh-fastest in the final tune-up in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Happy Hour; Dover International Speedway; May 30, 2015
- Denny Hamlin
- Carl Edwards
- Paul Menard
- Matt Kenseth
- Kyle Busch
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
- Jamie McMurray
- Jeff Gordon
- Kurt Busch
- Joey Logano
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Clint Bowyer
- David Ragan
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Greg Biffle
- Aric Almirola
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Austin Dillon
- Ryan Newman
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Trevor Bayne
- Kasey Kahne
- Michael Annett
- David Gilliland
- Casey Mears
- Justin Allgaier
- Brian Scott
- Tony Stewart
- Danica Patrick
- Sam Hornish Jr.
- Cole Whitt
- Josh Wise
- Jeb Burton
- Matt Dibenedetto
- Landon Cassill
- Alex Bowman
- Brett Moffitt
- Mike Bliss
- J.J. Yeley
CREDIT: NASCAR