2 days ago
McDowell, Gilliland top Cup Series practice sessions in Mexico City
For the first time in history, NASCAR Cup Series drivers turned laps at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City in two practice sessions.
Front Row Motorsports' Todd Gilliland was quickest in Practice 2 at 93.180 mph over Ross Chastain (93.041 mph) and Ty Gibbs (92.864 mph).
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RELATED: Practice 2 results | At-track photos: Mexico City
Ryan Blaney (92.836 mph) and Chris Buescher (92.726 mph) rounded out the top five.
Ryan Preece (92.669 mph), Austin Cindric (92.651 mph), Joey Logano (92.641 mph), Daniel Suárez (92.632 mph) and Shane van Gisbergen (92.601 mph) completed out the top 1o.
After posting the fastest time in Practice 1, Michael McDowell (92.163 mph) was 25th-fastest in the second session.
Noah Gragson was the only driver who did not turn a lap in Practice 2, as Front Row confirmed on social media that he will go to a backup car for Sunday's race.
Practice 1
Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell topped the leaderboard in Practice 1 at 92.657 mph, besting Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Chase Briscoe (92.547 mph) and Ty Gibbs (92.542 mph).
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Austin Cindric (92.528 mph) and Kyle Larson (92.439 mph) rounded out the top five.
Chris Buescher (92.427 mph), Joey Logano (92.401 mph), Ross Chastain (92.349 mph), Shane van Gisbergen (92.330 mph) and Todd Gilliland (92.276 mph) completed the top 10.
MORE: Practice 1 results
After being called up by JGR to replace Denny Hamlin for the weekend, Ryan Truex finished his first session in the No. 11 Toyota 36th-fastest with a speed of 90.946 mph.
As the learning process got underway, the 15-turn, 2.42-mile Mexico City circuit proved to be tricky for the drivers. Turn 4 was one of the most challenging spots as Cindric missed his braking point and Noah Gragson contacted the wall in the same area. Others had trouble slowing their cars down in time to make the corner.
Cup Series drivers get back on track Saturday at 2:05 p.m. ET for qualifying (Prime Video, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
This story will be updated.
