Tyler Reddick leads NASCAR Cup practice at COTA, Button 28th on debut

In the final 15 minutes of the 50-minute session, Reddick posted the top average speed (92.988 mph) in a group of cars that went out on new tires.

Kyle Larson ended up second-fastest (92.618 mph) and Ross Chastain – who won this race a year ago – was third (92.519 mph).

Kyle Busch was fourth and Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez, rounded out the top-five.

Completing the top-10 were Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, Jordan Taylor (substituting for Chase Elliott) and Ty Gibbs.

Reddick and Gibbs were the only drivers to run at least 10 consecutive laps, with Reddick coming away with the faster average speed (90.267 mph).

Friday’s practice was the first time Cup cars have been on a road course since NASCAR debuted its new aero rules this season for road courses and a majority of tracks measuring 1.058-mile or less in distance.

The package, which was tested in the offseason at Phoenix, consists of a 2-inch spoiler and the removal of three diffuser strakes and engine panel strakes. The changes are to lead to a 30-percent reduction in downforce.

Outside of Taylor, most of the non-Cup Series regulars participating this weekend did not fare so well in practice.

Former Formula 1 champion Jenson Button was 28th-fastest, former F1 champ Kimi Raikkonen was 32nd, Jimmie Johnson was 36th and IndyCar driver Conor Daly was last, in 39th.

About 24 minutes into the session, a caution was displayed for debris in the area of Turn 6.

Chastain went off course briefly in the final minutes in Turn 19 but was able to continue without any issues.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	45	Tyler Reddick		Toyota	18	2'12.016			92.989
2	5	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	15	2'12.544	0.528	0.528	92.618
3	1	Ross Chastain		Chevrolet	15	2'12.685	0.669	0.141	92.520
4	8	Kyle Busch		Chevrolet	17	2'12.717	0.701	0.032	92.498
5	99	Daniel Suarez		Chevrolet	14	2'12.770	0.754	0.053	92.461
6	34	Michael McDowell		Ford	18	2'12.774	0.758	0.004	92.458
7	2	Austin Cindric		Ford	10	2'12.798	0.782	0.024	92.441
8	23	Bubba Wallace		Toyota	17	2'12.809	0.793	0.011	92.433
9	22	Joey Logano		Ford	12	2'12.847	0.831	0.038	92.407
10	9	Jordan Taylor		Chevrolet	15	2'12.851	0.835	0.004	92.404
11	54	Ty Gibbs		Toyota	16	2'12.852	0.836	0.001	92.404
12	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	11	2'12.924	0.908	0.072	92.354
13	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		Chevrolet	15	2'12.962	0.946	0.038	92.327
14	43	Erik Jones		Chevrolet	12	2'12.995	0.979	0.033	92.304
15	21	Harrison Burton		Ford	16	2'13.021	1.005	0.026	92.286
16	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	16	2'13.029	1.013	0.008	92.281
17	20	Christopher Bell		Toyota	13	2'13.079	1.063	0.050	92.246
18	16	A.J. Allmendinger		Chevrolet	11	2'13.102	1.086	0.023	92.230
19	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	16	2'13.131	1.115	0.029	92.210
20	48	Alex Bowman		Chevrolet	13	2'13.265	1.249	0.134	92.117
21	19	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota	13	2'13.312	1.296	0.047	92.085
22	4	Kevin Harvick		Ford	14	2'13.377	1.361	0.065	92.040
23	41	Ryan Preece		Ford	12	2'13.449	1.433	0.072	91.990
24	6	Brad Keselowski		Ford	15	2'13.584	1.568	0.135	91.897
25	42	Noah Gragson		Chevrolet	15	2'13.636	1.620	0.052	91.861
26	14	Chase Briscoe		Ford	9	2'13.684	1.668	0.048	91.828
27	38	Todd Gilliland		Ford	15	2'13.694	1.678	0.010	91.822
28	15	Jenson Button		Ford	13	2'13.786	1.770	0.092	91.758
29	77	Ty Dillon		Chevrolet	15	2'13.795	1.779	0.009	91.752
30	3	Austin Dillon		Chevrolet	15	2'14.045	2.029	0.250	91.581
31	17	Chris Buescher		Ford	13	2'14.168	2.152	0.123	91.497
32	91	Kimi Raikkonen		Chevrolet	14	2'14.291	2.275	0.123	91.413
33	7	Corey Lajoie		Chevrolet	11	2'14.328	2.312	0.037	91.388
34	31	Justin Haley		Chevrolet	11	2'14.365	2.349	0.037	91.363
35	10	Aric Almirola		Ford	13	2'14.512	2.496	0.147	91.263
36	84	Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet	13	2'14.794	2.778	0.282	91.072
37	78	Josh Bilicki		Chevrolet	14	2'15.473	3.457	0.679	90.616
38	51	Cody Ware		Ford	13	2'16.253	4.237	0.780	90.097
39	50	Conor Daly		Chevrolet	11	2'16.257	4.241	0.004	90.094