Taylor Speeds To Fastest Time In Lime Rock Truck Practice

Jordan Taylor in action Friday during practice at Lime Rock Park. (Rusty Jones/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

LAKEVILLE, Conn. – Jordan Taylor’s past sports car experience at Lime Rock Park may have aided him in adapting to the track quickly Friday during NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice.

Taylor turned a quick lap of 54.093 seconds (98.364 mph) around the 1.473-mile, seven-turn natural road course in preparation for his Truck Series debut and fourth NASCAR national series start overall.

The 34-year-old native of Orlando, Fla., is a four-time IMSA champion and the latest ‘all-star’ driver to take the reins of Spire Motorsports’ No. 07 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado – but though he’s a Truck Series newcomer, he looked like a seasoned veteran at times.

“I knew I was going to have a good truck, coming with Spire Motorsports. They’ve been up front all year, so I knew it was going to be down to me to kind of figure it out and learn it … because the truck and the equipment’s there,” said Taylor after practice. “But getting up to speed was interesting, obviously, my first time in a truck. And I know the track well, but the truck is obviously a different animal from what I’m used to here. It went well though.

“We did a qual(ifying) run at the end to kind of get an idea for tomorrow, just because every little hundredth of a second around here is going to matter for track position,” he continued. “I think it’s going to be tough to pass, so the higher up we start, the better chance we’re going to have tomorrow. But I’m happy with how we started, for sure.”

Taylor’s practice-leading lap was his last of 23 circuits completed during the 50-minute practice session.

Seventeen-year-old Trans-Am star and rising prospect Brent Crews was second quick for TRICON Garage, wheeling the No. 1 JBL Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to a time of 54.174 seconds (98.217 mph) on his second lap on the course.

Niece Motorsports’ Kaden Honeycutt (54.179/98.208) was third and the first Truck Series regular on the speed charts, followed by four-time season winner Corey Heim (54.422/97.769) and perennial title contender Grant Enfinger (54.544/97.551).

Andres Perez de Lara, defending Truck Series champion Ty Majeski, Rajah Caruth, Ben Rhodes, and Layne Riggs filled out the fastest 10 drivers from Friday’s tune-up for the LiUNA 150.

Caruth posted the fastest 10-lap average during practice at 96.363 mph.

Xfinity Series part-timer Thomas Annunziata, who is also debuting in the Truck Series this weekend with Spire Motorsports, was 13th (54.931/96.863) on single-lap speed in the team’s No. 07 but had the third-best 10-lap average at (95.498 mph).

Annunziata later went on to capture the pole for the ARCA Menards Series race that will be held Saturday following the inaugural Truck Series event at Lime Rock.

The only incident of note during Friday’s practice came part-way through the session, when the engine expired in Wesley Slimp’s No. 62 Toyota for Halmar Friesen Racing.

Slimp will utilize a backup motor for race day, but will be able to start as there are only 34 trucks entered.

Qualifying for the LiUNA 150 is slated for 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning, with race coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.