
Loris Hezemans takes to the track to complete his first laps at Road America during the free practice session for this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race yesterday.
In total, Hezemans completed a total of 23 laps during both practice sessions, and his best time of 2:19.649 set during the Final Practice session was enough to put him in 23rd position out of 33. His Final Practice time improved from the best time he set on the first Free Practice session, where the 22-year old Dutchman set a best lap time of 2:20.718 that placed him in 26th place out of the 34 drivers that took part in the first Free Practice session.

Hezemans’ best lap time is still around 5.4 seconds slower than the best lap time of the day – 2:14.235 – set by Christopher Bell. Despite this, Hezemans finished his Practice sessions ahead of some of the series regulars, such as Stephen Leicht, David Starr, and Joey Gase.
Loris Hezemans, currently second in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Elite 1 championship with 2 wins this season, is making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend. He is driving the No. 99 Koolbox / ROUX Helmets Chevrolet Camaro fielded by B.J. McLeod Motorsports and will accompany BJMM’s regular driver Vinnie Miller in the No. 5 Pit Viper Chevrolet Camaro and road-course ringer Ryan Ellis in the No. 78 The Wes Cook Band Toyota Supra.

Yesterday’s practice sessions were led by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, who led both practice sessions after he set nearly identical best lap times across both sessions – 2:14.239 during First Practice, 2:14.235 during Final Practice. Justin Allgaier, Austin Cindric, Matt DiBenedetto, and A.J. Allmendinger completes the Top 5 for the first Free Practice session, while DiBenedetto, Allmendinger, Daytona 400 race winner Justin Haley, and Cole Custer completes the Top 5 during the Final Practice.
The Final Practice session was marred by a heavy crash involving Brandon Jones just after the Kink section. As he exited the Kink, Jones got loose, came back across the track and hit the outside wall, severely damaging his Toyota Supra and forcing him to go to the backup car for Saturday’s race. Other incidents during the Final Practice session includes Preston Pardus and Josh Williams stalling on the track and 2017 race winner Jeremy Clements having a stall due to a broken left-rear truck arm mount.
The first Free Practice session, on the other hand, went relatively clean with Noah Gragson going wide into the gravel and a spin by Dexter Bean being the only incidents during the session.
Full results for both the First Practice and Final Practice session can be checked in the links here:
Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of Vincent Bruins.