CONCORD, N.C. – A light rain shower just before NASCAR Xfinity Series practice was scheduled to begin Friday afternoon meant that teams had to maximize every second of on-track activity they could get.
When all was said and done, a brief 30-minute flurry of action at Charlotte Motor Speedway saw Riley Herbst lead the way ahead of the Alsco Uniforms 300 at the 1.5-mile quad-oval.
Driving the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, Herbst turned a quick lap of 30.263 seconds (178.436 mph) to lead the 43 drivers in attendance.
Over the first 11 races this year, Herbst has only earned two top-five and three top-10 finishes, leaving him 14th in the Xfinity Series standings entering Saturday’s 300-mile event just outside the Queen City.
Though it has taken some time for Herbst to jell with crew chief Richard Boswell and the team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, the 22-year-old Las Vegas native feels this weekend’s practice will help him to better show what he’s capable of.
“I knew that they (SHR) had fast cars last year, but me and Chase (Briscoe) aren’t the same race car driver. We both want a little bit something different in our race cars,” Herbst said. “It was always going to take awhile to figure out. To be honest, we had better speed than I expected the first few races at the mile and a halfs and we just didn’t get the finishes. I feel like that’s why we’re [sitting] outside the playoffs right now.
“The biggest thing we need to pick up on is unloading off the truck better,” Herbst added. “This is huge, being able to work on the race car so Richard (Boswell) and the boys know what I want in the race car and we can move forward to the next mile and a halfs and [other] race tracks going forward.”
Behind Herbst, Daniel Hemric was second-quick (30.281/178.330) for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 18 Toyota Supra, with A.J. Allmendinger third (30.392/177.678) for Kaulig Racing in the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro.
Rookie Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones were fourth and fifth, respectively, giving Joe Gibbs Racing three of the top-five quickest cars in the Xfinity Series garage area on single-lap pace Friday.
Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Dillon Bassett, Harrison Burton and Ty Dillon closed the top 10.
JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson was a disappointing 20th during the only practice of the weekend for NASCAR’s second-highest division.
Qualifying for the Alsco Uniforms 300 is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET Saturday morning, live on FS1.