Jimmie Johnson leads opening Sprint Cup practice at Darlington
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| Jimmie Johnson |
| Pete McCole/AR1 |
Three-time Darlington winner Jimmie Johnson paced Saturday's opening Sprint Cup practice session for Sunday's Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
With torrential rain from Tropical Storm Hermine washing out all of Friday's on-track activities, Saturday's opening session was the first opportunity for drivers to take to the track.
Driving a special Dale Earnhardt and David Pearson throwback paint scheme on his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, Johnson clocked in with a lap of 27.937 seconds (176.025 mph) during the late morning session, followed by Denny Hamlin (175.060 mph), Ryan Blaney (174.711 mph), Kyle Larson (174.544) and Ryan Newman (174.519).
Despite the fact that a tropical storm barrelled through the area just 12 hours ago, the forecast for the weekend calls for clear skies and mild temperatures with little chance of rain.
Pete McCole reporting from Darlington Raceway
Practice Results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Time | Lap | Behind |
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | Lowe's | 176.025 | 27.937 | Leader |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Sport Clips | 175.060 | 28.091 | –0.154 |
| 3 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | Motorcraft | 174.711 | 28.147 | –0.210 |
| 4 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Target | 174.544 | 28.174 | –0.237 |
| 5 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Caterpillar | 174.519 | 28.178 | –0.241 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 174.488 | 28.183 | –0.246 |
| 7 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevy | NAPA Auto Parts | 174.136 | 28.240 | –0.303 |
| 8 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Toyota | Auto-Owners Insurance | 173.620 | 28.324 | –0.387 |
| 9 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Valvoline | 173.417 | 28.357 | –0.420 |
| 10 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Fastenal | 173.240 | 28.386 | –0.449 |
| 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | Busch Beer | 173.143 | 28.402 | –0.465 |
| 12 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Hooters Ford Fusion | 173.064 | 28.415 | –0.478 |
| 13 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | LiftMaster | 173.009 | 28.424 | –0.487 |
| 14 | 88 | Jeff Gordon | Chevy | Nationwide | 172.802 | 28.458 | –0.521 |
| 15 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 172.735 | 28.469 | –0.532 |
| 16 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 172.626 | 28.487 | –0.550 |
| 17 | 34 | Chris Buescher | Ford | Love’s Travel Stops | 172.505 | 28.507 | –0.570 |
| 18 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Tide PODS | 172.505 | 28.507 | –0.570 |
| 19 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevy | Haas VF1 | 172.408 | 28.523 | –0.586 |
| 20 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | Coca-Cola | 172.396 | 28.525 | –0.588 |
| 21 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevy | Kroger Tyson | 172.342 | 28.534 | –0.597 |
| 22 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | Arris | 172.155 | 28.565 | –0.628 |
| 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | American Ethanol | 171.968 | 28.596 | –0.659 |
| 24 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | STP | 171.884 | 28.610 | –0.673 |
| 25 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevy | Nikko RC | 171.872 | 28.612 | –0.675 |
| 26 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | McDonald's | 171.357 | 28.698 | –0.761 |
| 27 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | 171.202 | 28.724 | –0.787 |
| 28 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Advocare | 170.649 | 28.817 | –0.880 |
| 29 | 44 | Brian Scott | Ford | Twisted Tea | 170.466 | 28.848 | –0.911 |
| 30 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | Nature's Bakery | 170.442 | 28.852 | –0.915 |
| 31 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | 5-Hour Energy | 170.112 | 28.908 | –0.971 |
| 32 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | Orange Crush | 169.689 | 28.980 | –1.043 |
| 33 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevy | Thrivent Financial | 169.491 | 29.014 | –1.077 |
| 34 | 38 | Landon Cassill | Ford | Rumple | 169.321 | 29.043 | –1.106 |
| 35 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Pilot Flying J | 167.351 | 29.385 | –1.448 |
| 36 | 23 | David Ragan | Toyota | I’m a Pepper | 167.095 | 29.430 | –1.493 |
| 37 | 30 | Josh Wise | Chevy | Incredible Bank | 165.704 | 29.677 | –1.740 |
| 38 | 98 | Cole Whitt | Chevy | Carolina Skiff | 164.101 | 29.967 | –2.030 |
| 39 | 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ford | Otter | 162.975 | 30.174 | –2.237 |