News Director 
Story By: ZACH CATANZARETI / NASCAR – BRISTOL, TN – In a day impacted by weather, Ruben Garcia Jr. still managed the make the most of the opportunity.
Ripping around Bristol Motor Speedway in 15.861 seconds (120.976 mph), the native of Mexico City, Mexico, topped the lone practice session for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. The sophomore driver ran 55 totals laps in his No. 6 UTI/NTI Toyota.
Finishing second quick was Jesse Little, the 20-year-old who is making his first East start of 2017 in his No. 97 NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota. He trailed Garcia by only 0.001 seconds.
Harrison Burton was third quickest followed by Sheldon Creed and Ronnie Bassett Jr. in the top five.
The track was a popular place in what was only a 55-minute session. All 26 drivers took laps, with Chase Cabre running the most with 74.
Zane Smith was sixth quickest with Hunter Baize, Spencer Davis, Collin Cabre and defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Todd Gilliland completing the top 10.
Due to inclement weather, qualifying for Saturday’s Zombie Auto 125 was cancelled, putting Harrison Burton on pole for the 125-lap event.
| Pos | No. Name | Sponsor | Best Tm | Best Speed | In Lap | Laps | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 6 | Ruben Garcia Jr | SUNOCO Toyota | 15.861 | 120.976 | 29 | 55 | |
| 2 97 | Jesse Little | NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota | 15.862 | 120.968 | 26 | 37 | 0.001 |
| 3 12 | Harrison Burton | Dex Imaging Toyota | 15.874 | 120.877 | 35 | 58 | 0.013 |
| 4 40 | Sheldon Creed * | A.M. Ortega/United Rentals Toyota | 15.903 | 120.656 | 48 | 71 | 0.042 |
| 5 04 | Ronnie Bassett Jr | Bassett Gutters and More Chevrolet | 15.984 | 120.045 | 37 | 37 | 0.123 |
| 6 43 | Zane Smith * | Diamondback Towing Toyota | 16.005 | 119.888 | 45 | 48 | 0.144 |
| 7 13 | Hunter Baize | Reynolds Wrap/Lightning Auto Sales Chevrole | 16.025 | 119.738 | 31 | 47 | 0.164 |
| 8 96 | Spencer Davis | Davis Poultry/Driven Motorsports Toyota | 16.037 | 119.648 | 32 | 62 | 0.176 |
| 9 2 | Collin Cabre | UTI/NTI Toyota | 16.074 | 119.373 | 35 | 42 | 0.213 |
| 10 16 | Todd Gilliland | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 16.131 | 118.951 | 21 | 38 | 0.27 |
| 11 17 | Chase Purdy * | Bama Buggies/Textron Off Road Toyota | 16.154 | 118.782 | 37 | 52 | 0.293 |
| 12 44 | Dillon Bassett | Bassett Gutters and More Ford | 16.158 | 118.752 | 17 | 19 | 0.297 |
| 13 14 | Trey Hutchens | Hutchens Motorsports Chevrolet | 16.206 | 118.401 | 45 | 49 | 0.345 |
| 14 23 | J P Morgan | www.SoldByJackieMorgan.com | 16.23 | 118.226 | 12 | 61 | 0.369 |
| 15 66 | Reid Wilson * | TruNorth Warranty Programs Chevrolet | 16.232 | 118.211 | 53 | 59 | 0.371 |
| 16 42 | Jay Beasley | Honda Generators Toyota | 16.237 | 118.175 | 46 | 48 | 0.376 |
| 17 39 | Chad Finchum | Emory & Henry/WEHC 99.7 FM Toyota | 16.239 | 118.16 | 16 | 43 | 0.378 |
| 18 88 | Julia Landauer | One Love Fountain Ford | 16.309 | 117.653 | 11 | 57 | 0.448 |
| 19 11 | Ryan Truex | Otics USA Chevrolet | 16.317 | 117.595 | 26 | 32 | 0.456 |
| 20 30 | Tyler Dippel | TyCar Ford | 16.359 | 117.293 | 61 | 61 | 0.498 |
| 21 4 | Chase Cabre * | Max Siegel Inc Toyota | 16.447 | 116.666 | 61 | 74 | 0.586 |
| 9 | Brandon Lynn | Next Gen/Peak Performance Chevrolet | 16.518 | 116.164 | 34 | 57 | 0.657 |
| 23 71 | Eddie MacDonald | Grimm Construction Chevrolet | 16.703 | 114.878 | 49 | 49 | 0.842 |
| 24 5 | Luis Rodriguez Jr * | TWR/PEAK Performance Chevrolet | 16.718 | 114.774 | 67 | 68 | 0.857 |
| 25 41 | Vinnie Miller * | MasterMfgInc.com Toyota | 16.725 | 114.726 | 6 | 23 | 0.864 |
| 26 18 | Sam Hunt | Team HSR Toyota | 17.284 | 111.016 | 5 | 6 | 1.423 |
* – Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender
