PRACTICE: Bret Holmes Tops Charts Ahead Of Championship Race At Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Bret Holmes needs to finish third or better in Friday night’s Speediatrics 150 presented by The NASCAR Foundation at Kansas Speedway to guarantee himself the 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship.

So his posting the fastest time in Friday afternoon’s 30-minute group practice session at the 1.5-mile oval is a good sign for the 23-year-old and his team.

Holmes’ No. 23 Golden Eagle Syrup Chevrolet topped the charts with a lap time of 30.753 seconds (175.593 mph). He beat Ty Gibbs’ best time (30.896 seconds / 174.780 mph) by 0.143 seconds.

RELATED: Complete practice results from Kansas

Derek Griffith (30.919 seconds / 174.650 mph), Corey Heim (30.937 seconds / 174.548 mph) and Hailie Deegan (30.980 seconds / 174.306 mph) rounded out the top five in practice.

Michael Self, who is eight points behind Holmes in the championship standings entering Friday night’s ARCA Menards Series season finale, posted the sixth best lap time in practice (31.193 seconds / 173.116 mph).

Dylan Lupton (31.461 seconds / 171.641 mph), Drew Dollar (31.722 seconds / 170.229 mph), Chandler Smith (31.772 seconds / 169.961 mph) and Kris Wright (32.150 seconds / 167.963 mph) rounded out the top 10 in practice.

The starting lineup for Friday night’s race at Kansas will be set by owner points. Gibbs will start on the pole with Holmes joining him on the front row. Self will line up third.

The Speediatrics 150 presented by The NASCAR Foundation is scheduled to start Friday at 5:05 p.m. CT / 6:05 p.m. ET. The race will air live on FS1 starting at 5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET.

A radio broadcast will be available on MRN and SiriusXM channel 385 (online 985).

Starting lineup for Speediatrics 150 presented by The NASCAR Foundation

(Starting lineup set by team owner points)

* Bounty Rookie of the Year contender