Teammates top lone Xfinity Series practice session at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Annika Pepper

JR Motorsports teammates Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier race side by side during the only Xfinity Series practice session. Gragson finished the practice session in second, while Allgaier finished in 13th. After NASCAR replaced qualifying with a practice session due to Friday’s rain, Gragson will lead the field to the green flag in the Nalley Cars 250.

Abby Carter, Editor-in-Chief

Jeb Burton, driver of the No. 27 Chevy for Our Motorsports, had the fastest speed in the Xfinity Series practice at 178.879 mph and a lap time of 30.993 seconds. 

“We really just figured out what the product was going to be,” Brett Moffitt, fellow Our Motorsports driver, said. “We knew we would be wide open by ourselves, but we were not sure when you’re deep in the pack and it turns out that you are going to be.”

Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops car, finished second on the charts followed by JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer in the No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet. Gragson topped out at 178.683 mph with a lap time of 31.027 second. Mayer clocked a time of 31.09 at 178.321 mph.

Fourth place finisher Moffitt, driver of the No. 2 Hometown Lenders Chevrolet, had a speed of 178.258 mph with a lap time of 31.101. 

“It’s not like the old Atlanta. It’s got a lot of grip,” Moffitt said. “It’s definitely going to look a lot different than the past races here.”

Kyle Weatherman finished fifth place with his lap time only .039 seconds slower than Moffitt, with his top speed being 178.035. He only ran 15 laps in the 40-minute session.

Ty Gibbs, currently second in Xfinity series points, finished the session seventh on the charts. 

Atlanta driver Brandon Jones logged his fastest lap in 31.185 seconds with a top speed of 177.778 mph, good enough for eighth.

“I feel really good about our speed,” Jones said. “It’s just going to come down to where you get your runs at.”

The Xfinity Series cars take to the track again later today in the Nalley Cars 250 at 5:00 EST.