Polesitter Matt Kenseth paced Saturday’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup practice session at Homestead.
Jimmie Johnson, the driver Kenseth is chasing in the championship battle, was 15th. Johnson must finish 23rd or better in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 to lock up the title, if Kenseth wins the race.
But Johnson didn’t appear particularly perturbed at trailing Kenseth’s fastest lap by nearly half a second (.479 seconds, to be precise).
“Oh, we were just working on comfort,” Johnson said matter-of-factly. “And, you know, it’s different conditions now than what we’ll have during race time. So we’re being smart about our changes. We were here and tested, and we tested at the end of the night when the race will finish.
“So I was just out there running around on old tires, trying to get a little comfort in the car, and we’re making it more comfortable for the hotter conditions, and we’ll see how that transfers to our later practice session. And then we’ll make some smart decisions tonight going into (Sunday’s) race.”
Though there were 13 cars between Kenseth and Johnson in terms of top speed, the drivers were much closer when it came to 10-lap averages. Kenseth was fourth fastest in that category. Johnson was sixth.
True to his word, Johnson got the No. 48 Chevrolet dialed in during Saturday’s second practice session. Yes, Kenseth again was quickest during the final practice session at 171.980 mph, but Johnson was right behind him in second place at 171.647 mph.
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