Riley Herbst turned the fastest lap in final NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, posting a lap of 178.065 mph in the No. 35 Toyota.
The session was tightly packed at the top, with Bubba Wallace second at 177.930 mph and Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin tied for third at 177.877 mph. Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five at 177.754 mph.
While Herbst topped the single-lap chart, Tyler Reddick showed the strongest long-run speed. The 23XI Racing driver led all competitors with a best 10-lap average of 176.130 mph, nearly a half-second faster than the next-best mark posted by Austin Cindric. William Byron, Wallace and Ryan Blaney also ranked among the top performers in the longer-run averages.
Toyota placed six cars inside the top 10 in outright speed, continuing the manufacturer’s recent strength on 1.5-mile tracks. Wallace, Hamlin, Gibbs, Corey Heim and Reddick joined Herbst among the fastest entries in the session.