In a combined practice and qualifying session for Sunday night’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (8 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports topped the podium. At 63.762 mph, the driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet overtook Tyler Reddick (63.546 mph), Denny Hamlin (63.600 mph), and Chris Buescher (63.622 mph). Later in the evening, those four drivers will start their respective 25-lap heat races at the “Madhouse” from the pole position. Brad Keselowski completed the top five with a speed of 63.515 mph. Chase Briscoe (63.501 mph), Christopher Bell (63.407 mph), Joey Logano (63.407 mph), Ryan Blaney (63.313 mph) and Shane van Gisbergen (63.305 mph) completed the top 10.
The field was divided into groups for this practice session, and each group had three opportunities to run the track. The starting order for the heat races was decided by each driver’s fastest lap time during their third and last trip on the course. After 39 drivers set a qualifying time in the final practice session, Ty Gibbs finished 24th fastest (62.994 mph), despite setting the fastest overall time in Group 1 of practice (64.199 mph). 8:30 p.m. ET is when the Heat races start.
