Talladega Practice Notes: Not much to get excited about during plate race sessions

Jimmie Johnson fastest during final practice sessions

During the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Camping World RV Sales 500 practice session early Friday evening, it was Jimmie Johnson, with a lap speed of 195.936 m.p.h., showing the fastest way around Talladega Superspeedway.

Josh Wise, with a lap speed of 195.892 m.p.h., was the second fastest and was followed by Denny Hamlin (195.333 m.p.h.) who was third, Kasey Kahne (195.297) fourth and Bobby Labonte (195.269) was fifth.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest drivers in the “Happy Hour” (final) session were Juan Pablo Montoya (195.265 m.p.h.) who was sixth, Travis Kvapil (195.221) seventh, David Gilliland (194.919) eighth, Jeff Gordon (194.401) ninth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (194.358) posting the tenth fastest lap speed. Only 29 drivers ran at least one lap.

The teams return Saturday afternoon at 12:10 p.m. (ET- On FOX Sports 2) for qualifying to determine the starting lineup for the 45th annual Camping World RV Sales 500 – which is scheduled to get underway around 2:20 p.m. (ET) Sunday afternoon. Television coverage will be provided by ESPN beginning with their 1:00 p.m. (ET) NASCAR Countdown pre-race show.

Final practice - Top-5 for the Camping World RV Sales 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is underway after 60 scheduled minutes:
#48-Johnson 195.936
#35-Wise 195.892
#11-Hamlin 195.333
#5-Kahne 195.297
#47-Labonte 195.269
slowest: #40-Raines 187.551 & #33-Cassill 186.619. 29 drivers were on track.
notes: Several teams chose to not run during the session

Almirola Fastest in Early Session

Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway, Aric Almirola reached an average lap speed of 202 m.p.h., to be the quickest during the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Camping World RV Sales 500 practice session.

Jeff Burton, with a lap speed of 201.987 m.p.h., was second quickest and was followed by Marcos Ambrose (201.876 m.p.h.) who was third, Martin Truex, Jr. (201.855) fourth and Carl Edwards (201.604) was fifth.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest drivers during the session were Greg Biffle (201.341 m.p.h.) who was sixth, David Ragan (201.168) seventh, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (201.092) eighth, Jamie McMurray (201.071) ninth and Casey Mears (200.911) posting the tenth fastest lap speed.

The teams will return to the track later today for their “Happy Hour” (final) practice session from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (ET) and then return Saturday afternoon at 12:10 p.m. (ET) for qualifying to determine the starting lineup for Sunday afternoon’s race.

The 45th annual Camping World RV Sales 500 is scheduled to get underway around 2:20 p.m. (ET) Sunday afternoon, and ESPN will provide television coverage beginning with their 1:00 p.m. (ET) NASCAR Countdown pre-race show.

First Friday practice - Top-5 for the Camping World RV Sales 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway after 45 scheduled minutes:
#43-Almirola 202.000
#31-Burton 201.987
#9-Ambrose 201.876
#56-Truex, Jr. 201.855
#99-Edwards 201.604
slowest: #87-Nemechek 186.278 & #33-Cassill 184.494.
notes: There will be a second (and final) practice session this afternoon, Qualifying will be Saturday at 12:10pm/et and shown on Fox Sports 2.
The top 11 drivers had a lap speed faster than 200mph.

Practice 2 Speeds - Jimmie Johnson Fastest

Practice 1 Speeds - Aric Alimorola Fastest

-from Jayski.com and Catchfence.com