Buescher paces Cup Series practice at Kansas as another Penske car loses a tire

Chris Buescher paced Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice in which two of the three Team Penske playoff drivers encountered tire issues.

Buescher topped the board at 176.056mph (30.672s). Zane Smith was second fastest at 175.695mph.

Denny Hamlin (P) was the fastest playoff driver, third on the board at 175.684mph, while Bubba Wallace (P) was fourth fastest at 175.661mph. John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five at 175.535mph.

Erik Jones was sixth at 175.461mph, Justin Haley seventh at 175.461mph, Chase Briscoe (P) eighth at 175.318mph, Todd Gilliland ninth at 175.29mph and Ty Dillon 10th at 175.193mph.

Kyle Larson (P) was 12th on the board, followed by Chase Elliott (P) and Tyler Reddick (P). Christopher Bell was 17th fastest, with Austin Cindric in 20th. William Byron came in 23rd fastest and Ross Chastain 31st.

Chastain is the defending winner at Kansas Speedway.

Joey Logano (P) was 35th. Logano blew a right rear tire late in the session but caught it before hitting the wall.

Ryan Blaney (P) was 36th fastest. Blaney was not as lucky as his teammate, as he blew a tire early on and hit the Turn 2 wall.

Zane Smith was fastest in the best five and 10-lap averages, while Larson was fastest in the 15-lap average.