The first practice session on the repaved, reconfigured Texas Motor Speedway track was eventful on Friday, with four drivers involved in separate accidents.
Chase Elliott, Erik Jones crash hard in first practice on new Texas track
Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott each had trouble in Friday’s first practice session at Texas Motor Speedway.
Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Mere minutes into the two-hour, 25-minute session, Denny Hamlin spun harmlessly in Turn 2 due to a lack of grip on the ultra-slick 1.5-oval. He was able to drive back to the garage and rejoined practice shortly thereafter.
Kyle Busch was the next driver to find trouble, as he spun in Turn 1 and clipped the outside wall with the right-rear of the No. 18 Toyota. His team elected against switching to a backup car and will repair the damage prior to qualifying Friday afternoon.
The teams of Erik Jones and Chase Elliott had no choice but to pull out backups after Jones and Elliott each slammed the wall and heavily damaged their primary cars.
Jones, a Monster Energy Cup Series rookie, was on a mock qualifying run when he pushed too hard, lost control exiting Turn 4, and crunched the outside wall. Jones had posted the fourth-fastest speed (193.154 mph) in his primary No. 77 Toyota.
Similar to Jones, Elliott also admitted to pushing too hard. He first brushed the outside Turn 2 wall, then spun into the inside wall, which caused the majority of the damage to the No. 25 Chevrolet.
“With new repaves, we have to have a tire that can withstand the speed and when that happens it just makes it real on edge and that is just part of it,” Elliott said. “Not an excuse, just made a mistake.”
It was expected drivers would have their hands full in Friday’s practice, as it marked the first on-track activity since Texas was repaved over the offseason. In addition to a complete repave, TMS officials also decreased the banking in Turns 1 and 2 from 24 degrees to 20, and widened the track in that section from 60 feet to 80. The 24-degree banking remained unchanged in Turns 3 and 4.
Busch, Jones, and Elliott were all evaluated and released from the infield care center, cleared to return to competition.
Ryan Blaney topped Friday’s practice with a single-lap speed of 194.182 mph.
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