Newman tops opening practice in Atlanta
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| Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch practicing |
Ryan Newman topped the leaderboard in Friday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway at 187.875 mph in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
Right behind him was Jamie McMurray in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet at 187.735 mph.
Rounding out the top five were: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 187.595 mph, Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 187.494 mph and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford at 187.487 mph.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is the next scheduled Monster Energy Series event at 5:45 p.m. ET (FS1).
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Sponsor | Speed | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Caterpillar | 187.875 | 29.509 | LEADER |
| 2 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | McDonald's | 187.735 | 29.531 | -0.022 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's | 187.595 | 29.553 | -0.044 |
| 4 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt | 187.494 | 29.569 | -0.060 |
| 5 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Fastenal | 187.487 | 29.57 | -0.061 |
| 6 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Target | 187.475 | 29.572 | -0.063 |
| 7 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Farmers Insurance | 187.266 | 29.605 | -0.096 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Ground | 187.19 | 29.617 | -0.108 |
| 9 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | 186.868 | 29.668 | -0.159 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | AutoTrader | 186.824 | 29.675 | -0.166 |
| 11 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats | 186.686 | 29.697 | -0.188 |
| 12 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | AdvoCare | 186.61 | 29.709 | -0.200 |
| 13 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | TBD | 186.459 | 29.733 | -0.224 |
| 14 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy / Haas Automation | 186.228 | 29.77 | -0.261 |
| 15 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Foods | 186.184 | 29.777 | -0.268 |
| 16 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | ARRIS | 186.159 | 29.781 | -0.272 |
| 17 | 13 | Ty Dillon | GEICO | 186.078 | 29.794 | -0.285 |
| 18 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil | 185.816 | 29.836 | -0.327 |
| 19 | 24 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts | 185.685 | 29.857 | -0.348 |
| 20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Dow Quikrete | 185.084 | 29.954 | -0.445 |
| 21 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's | 184.985 | 29.970 | -0.461 |
| 22 | 27 | Paul Menard | Richmond/Menards | 184.899 | 29.984 | -0.475 |
| 23 | 14 | Clint Bowyer | Haas | 184.689 | 30.018 | -0.509 |
| 24 | 37 | Chris Buescher | Kroger Click List | 184.609 | 30.031 | -0.522 |
| 25 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Jimmy John's | 184.505 | 30.048 | -0.539 |
| 26 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Nationwide | 184.223 | 30.094 | -0.585 |
| 27 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Aspen Dental | 184.211 | 30.096 | -0.587 |
| 28 | 38 | David Ragan | TBD | 183.777 | 30.167 | -0.658 |
| 29 | 77 | Erik Jones | SiriusXM | 182.844 | 30.321 | -0.812 |
| 30 | 34 | Landon Cassill | CSX – Play it Safe | 182.753 | 30.336 | -0.827 |
| 31 | 32 | Matt DiBenedetto | Can – Am | 182.38 | 30.398 | -0.889 |
| 32 | 95 | Michael McDowell | KLove Radio / WRL Contractors | 181.526 | 30.541 | -1.032 |
| 33 | 72 | Cole Whitt | Rinnai | 180.633 | 30.692 | -1.183 |
| 34 | 23 | Gray Gaulding | Dr. Pepper | 178.608 | 31.04 | -1.531 |
| 35 | 15 | Reed Sorenson | TBD | 176.011 | 31.498 | -1.989 |
| 36 | *83 | Corey Lajoie | Dustless Blasting | 175.816 | 31.533 | -2.024 |
| 37 | *55 | Derrike Cope | Wade Tractor & Equipment | 175.039 | 31.673 | -2.164 |
| 38 | 33 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Little Joes Autos / Curtis Key Plumbing | 171.249 | 32.374 | -2.865 |
| 39 | *51 | Cody Ware | Spoonful of Music Foundation | 168.036 | 32.993 | -3.484 |