NASCAR: Larson tops Cup practice in Las Vegas
Defending race winner Kyle Larson led the way in Cup Series practice, setting the pace with a 181.184 mph lap in the 35-minute session. Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was also fastest in the consecutive 10-lap average category.
Christopher Bell took the second spot on the practice chart, with Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Joey Logano completing the top five in order.
A crash by Kyle Busch forced the only caution period, six minutes into the session. The Las Vegas native lost control when a tire deflated on his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, forcing the car into the outside retaining wall in Turn 3. His JGR crew indicated that the team would prepare a reserve car for Sunday’s 400-miler.
Here’s what happened (left-rear tire went down): https://t.co/yw6E7ol2eX pic.twitter.com/lENP8fc5W7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 5, 2022
NASCAR officials tweaked the practice structure for Saturday’s session. Competition officials switched from dividing the field into two groups for separate 15-minute sessions, opting for a single 35-minute practice for all entries.
Practice Results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Behind | Gap |
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 29.804 | 181.184 | 0.000s | 0.000s |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | 29.872 | 180.771 | -0.068 | -0.068 |
| 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Menards/Pennzoil Ford | 30.000 | 180.000 | -0.196 | -0.128 |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | Axalta Chevrolet | 30.037 | 179.778 | -0.233 | -0.037 |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Pennzoil Ford | 30.207 | 178.767 | -0.403 | -0.170 |
| 6 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 30.222 | 178.678 | -0.418 | -0.015 |
| 7 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | BetMGM Chevrolet | 30.227 | 178.648 | -0.423 | -0.005 |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 30.255 | 178.483 | -0.451 | -0.028 |
| 9 | 16 | Daniel Hemric(i) | South Point Chevrolet | 30.272 | 178.383 | -0.468 | -0.0170 |
| 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | ACM Awards Chevrolet | 30.358 | 177.877 | -0.554 | -0.086 |
| 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight Toyota | 30.396 | 177.655 | -0.592 | -0.038 |
| 12 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Ethel M Chocolates Toyota | 30.498 | 177.061 | -0.694 | -0.102 |
| 13 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | 30.507 | 177.009 | -0.703 | -0.009 |
| 14 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 30.511 | 176.985 | -0.707 | -0.004 |
| 15 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 30.52 | 176.933 | -0.716 | -0.009 |
| 16 | 41 | Cole Custer | HaasTooling.com Ford | 30.537 | 176.835 | -0.733 | -0.017 |
| 17 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 30.557 | 176.719 | -0.753 | -0.020 |
| 18 | 2 | Austin Cindric # | Discount Tire Ford | 30.56 | 176.702 | -0.756 | -0.003 |
| 19 | 45 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Toyota | 30.576 | 176.609 | -0.772 | -0.016 |
| 20 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Mobil 1 Ford | 30.582 | 176.574 | -0.778 | -0.006 |
| 21 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Dr Pepper Cream Soda Toyota | 30.602 | 176.459 | -0.798 | -0.020 |
| 22 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 30.608 | 176.424 | -0.804 | -0.006 |
| 23 | *44 | Greg Biffle | Florida A&M University Chevrolet | 30.639 | 176.246 | -0.835 | -0.031 |
| 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Rheem Smurfit Kappa Ford | 30.72 | 175.781 | -0.916 | -0.081 |
| 25 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Wyndham Rewards Ford | 30.725 | 175.753 | -0.921 | -0.005 |
| 26 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | SunnyD Chevrolet | 30.74 | 175.667 | -0.936 | -0.015 |
| 27 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | 30.744 | 175.644 | -0.940 | -0.004 |
| 28 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Fastenal Ford | 30.817 | 175.228 | -1.013 | -0.073 |
| 29 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | 30.883 | 174.853 | -1.079 | -0.066 |
| 30 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Schluter Systems Chevrolet | 30.889 | 174.82 | -1.085 | -0.006 |
| 31 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Stage Front Ford | 30.907 | 174.718 | -1.103 | -0.018 |
| 32 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford | 30.935 | 174.56 | -1.131 | -0.028 |
| 33 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | CommScope Chevrolet | 31.159 | 173.305 | -1.355 | -0.224 |
| 34 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Goettl Air Conditioning Chevrolet | 31.293 | 172.563 | -1.489 | -0.134 |
| 35 | 77 | Josh Bilicki(i) | Ziegler Auto Group Chevrolet | 31.586 | 170.962 | -1.782 | -0.293 |
| 36 | 15 | Garrett Smithley | Trophy Tractor Ford | 32.164 | 167.89 | -2.36 | -0.578 |
| 37 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Filtertime Ford | 32.255 | 167.416 | -2.451 | -0.091 |