INDIANAPOLIS — Chandler Smith’s No. 81 Toyota was the fastest car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on Friday afternoon for Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts.
The driver of the No. 81 QuickTie Toyota ran 25 laps with a best lap at 166.756 miles per hour. That knocked Parker Kligerman’s speed of 166.571 mph in the No. 48 Spiked Lite Tropical Coolers Chevrolet off the top of the timing monitor late in the practice session.
Conor Daly, a journeyman in the NTT IndyCar Series who is currently out of a ride, was third at 164.995 mph in the No. 26 Polkadot Toyota.
Daly replaced Jack Harvey in last Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250 at Iowa Speedway and finished last in the 27-car field with mechanical failure after 140 laps.
Brandon Jones was fourth in the No. 9 Menards/Pennington Chevrolet at 164.781 mph with Riely Herbst in the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford rounding out the top five at 164.736 mph.
While Sunday’s 30th Anniversary Brickyard 400 is the first NASCAR Cup Series race on the oval since 2020, Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 is the first time the NASCAR Xfinity Series has competed on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval since 2019.
Cole Custer in the No. 00 Haas Automation Ford had the fastest 10-lap consecutive run from lap 14 to lap 23 at 162.928 mph.
Qualifications for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 are Saturday from 12:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. ET. The race follows at 3:30 p.m.