NASCAR practice results: Byron, Bowman, Elliott, Larson in top 10 in final Cup Series session at COTA

AUSTIN, Texas - With a new, shorter configuration being utilized this weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series drivers took to the track at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday for four practice sessions. 

Competitors were split into two groups with each group getting a pair of 20-minute practices leading up to Cup Series qualifying set to start at 12:30 p.m. 

Alex Bowman registered a lap of 1:39.14 in the first practice of the morning, putting him second among the 19 drivers participating in the first group and second overall. William Byron's best lap in the same session was a 1:40.32, placing him 14th. Byron is the defending winner of the event. 

The other two Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, took part in the second group. Larson laid down the fastest time at 1:39.65, putting him fourth overall. Elliott's best lap of 1:40.8 placed him 22nd. 

The second session was even friendlier to the Hendrick Motorsports contingent with all four drivers placing in the top 10. The group was led by Byron, who has won the pole in back-to-back years at COTA. He flashed that single-lap speed again in session two, using a lap of 1:39.43 to rocket to second on the board. 

"I feel like we made a ton of progress and probably still a little bit more to go," Byron said. "I feel like our car got a lot better. We just started off really loose, hard to make laps. So, thanks to the guys for improving it quite a bit. Just trying to put together a solid first lap (in qualifying) because I feel like these tires really fall off." 

Bowman, who is one of only three drivers to score a top-10 finish in all four races at COTA, was next with a lap of 1:39.61, placing him fifth on the leaderboard. Elliott and Larson were right behind in sixth and seventh respectively. 

Cup Series qualifying was set to begin just after the conclusion of the final session. 

RELATED: Xfinity Series starting lineup set for Saturday at COTA

NASCAR Cup Series practice results 

Practice 1

1. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, 1:38.86
2. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 1:39.14
3. Connor Zilisch, No. 87, 1:39.28
4. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:39.65
5. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, 1:39.67
6. Austin Cindric, No. 2, 1:39.72
7. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 1:39.8
8. Noah Gragson, No. 4, 1:39.9
9. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 1:40.1
10. Ross Chastain, No. 1, 1:40.11
11. Justin Haley, No. 7, 1:40.22
12. Michael McDowell, No. 71, 1:40.23
13. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 1:40.25
14. William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet, 1:40.32
15. Christopher Bell, No. 20, 1:40.36
16. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 1:40.36
17. Joey Logano, No. 22, 1:40.43
18. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 1:40.48
19. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 1:40.52
20. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 1:40.54
21. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 1:40.75
22. Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1:40.8
23. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 1:40.8
24. Chris Buescher, No. 17, 1:40.86
25. Josh Berry, No. 21, 1:40.91
26. Ty Dillon, No. 10, 1:40.97
27. Cole Custer, No. 41, 1:40.98
28. Ryan Preece, No. 60, 1:41.0
29. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 1:41.04
30. Zane Smith, No. 38, 1:41.13
31. Austin Dillon, No. 3, 1:41.18
32. Erik Jones, No. 43, 1:41.24
33. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, 1:41.25
34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, 1:41.48
35. Kyle Busch, No. 8, 1:41.78
36. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 1:41.97
37. Cody Ware, No. 51, 1:42.7

Practice 2

1. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88, 1:38.85
2. William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet, 1:39.43
3. Carson Hocevar, No. 77, 1:39.48
4. Ryan Blaney, No. 12, 1:39.54
5. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 1:39.61
6. Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 1:39.65
7. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 1:39.72
8. Kyle Busch, No. 8, 1:39.74
9. Daniel Suarez, No. 99, 1:39.74
10. Ross Chastain, No. 1, 1:39.8
11. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16, 1:39.83
12. Chase Briscoe, No. 19, 1:39.94
13. Michael McDowell, No. 71, 1:39.94
14. Chris Buescher, No. 17, 1:39.97
15. Justin Haley, No. 7, 1:39.97
16. Tyler Reddick, No. 45, 1:39.99
17. Connor Zilisch, No. 87, 1:40.0
18. Austin Cindric, No. 2, 1:40.09
19. Ty Dillon, No. 10, 1:40.09
20. Riley Herbst, No. 35, 1:40.12
21. Christopher Bell, No. 20, 1:40.15
22. Joey Logano, No. 22, 1:40.15
23. Zane Smith, No. 38, 1:40.27
24. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42, 1:40.35
25. Ty Gibbs, No. 54, 1:40.36
26. Bubba Wallace, No. 23, 1:40.45
27. Todd Gilliland, No. 34, 1:40.5
28. Ryan Preece, No. 60, 1:40.58
29. Josh Berry, No. 21, 1:40.61
30. Noah Gragson, No. 4, 1:40.81
31. Austin Dillon, No. 3, 1:40.82
32. Denny Hamlin, No. 11, 1:40.88
33. Brad Keselowski, No. 6, 1:40.9
34. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 1:41.04
35. Cole Custer, No. 41, 1:41.55
36. Erik Jones, No. 43, 1:41.61
37. Cody Ware, No. 51, 1:42.12