In the first time for over 50 years, the NASCAR Cup Series cars were running on dirt, and Alex Bowman was the quickest in practice #1.
Right from the beginning of the practice period, several cars went out and were pretty bunched-up, especially compared to what we saw in the Truck Series. That did not last long, as once drivers recorded fast laps, they pitted and talked with their crew chief on some potential adjustments ahead of practice #2.
We saw a lot fewer spin-outs, as compared to the Truck Series, but we still had a few with Truex spinning out in both Truck and Cup practice. J.J. Yeley also spun-out twice during practice, at the same part of the exit of turn 4.
The track began to rubber-up as practice carried on, but not enough apparently as the 25 fastest laps were all recorded in the first 10 minutes of practice, with the exception of Christopher Bell’s 2nd fastest time.
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | 20.155 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | 20.225 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | 20.248 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | 20.266 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | 20.314 |
| 6 | 9 | Chase Elliot | Hendrick Motorsports | 20.334 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | 20.434 |
| 8 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | 20.523 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | 20.535 |
| 10 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | 20.548 |
