The NASCAR Sprint Cup series had two practice sessions on Friday at Kansas Speedway in preparations for Saturday’s GoBowling.com 400 at the 1.5-mile oval. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, led the charts in practice one. Martin Truex Jr., who finished second in the first practice session, showed the way in the final practice session.
Jimmie Johnson had some issues with his No. 48 Chevrolet early on in the running. Johnson experienced the same exact issue as Kasey Kahne had during qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway earlier this year.
The No. 48 racing team will not change the engine in the No. 48 machine as they believe it will be okay.
Doug Duchardt, Hendrick Motorsports general manager, issued the following statement:
“It appears the No. 48 got into a similar condition that the No. 5 (Kasey Kahne) got into at Phoenix; and when it did that, it pumped some oil up into the intake manifold and that’s where the smoke came from. Based on the experience we had with Kasey’s engine in Phoenix, we felt comfortable checking the engine over, running it, getting the oil out of the top of the engine, and sending him back out. Jimmie went back out during practice. We will continue to monitor, and we have no plans on changing the engine at this time.”
Johnson was able to run several more laps after diagnosing the issue. The Lowe’s Chevrolet ended final practice as the fourth fastest car. The California native finished 11th in the first Sprint Cup practice session.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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