Kurt Busch Leads The Field In Charlotte Practice
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| Kurt Busch |
Kurt Busch posted the fastest lap in Saturday's early practice session for Sunday's 57th annual Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch's opening lap of 191.002 mph (28.272 seconds) was the best run of any driver during the session, the second overall since the Sprint Cup cars rolled into the track on Thursday. Busch, who fell just short of advancing to the final round of qualifying and will roll off 13th, was more than a half-a-mile-an-hour fastest than the next quickest driver, Jimmie Johnson. Both drivers ran 1-2 in Thursday's practice session.
Johnson ran a 190.617 mph lap on his opening run to take the second spot. Polesitter Martin Truex, Jr. was third, followed by Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Practice #1 Results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Lap | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevy | Monster Energy | 191.002 | 28.272 | Leader |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | Lowe's Patriotic | 190.617 | 28.329 | –0.057 |
| 3 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Toyota | Bass Pro Shops | 190.061 | 28.412 | –0.140 |
| 4 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | Subway | 189.887 | 28.438 | –0.166 |
| 5 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Fastenal Ford Fusion | 189.414 | 28.509 | –0.237 |
| 6 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevy | NAPA Auto Parts | 189.381 | 28.514 | –0.242 |
| 7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | Jimmy John's | 189.301 | 28.526 | –0.254 |
| 8 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | Motorcraft | 188.383 | 28.665 | –0.393 |
| 9 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Whelen | 188.252 | 28.685 | –0.413 |
| 10 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Target | 188.239 | 28.687 | –0.415 |
| 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | Cheerios | 187.990 | 28.725 | –0.453 |
| 12 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 187.820 | 28.751 | –0.479 |
| 13 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | LiftMaster | 187.813 | 28.752 | –0.480 |
| 14 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Advocare | 187.767 | 28.759 | –0.487 |
| 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | Mobil 1 | 187.559 | 28.791 | –0.519 |
| 16 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | Cessna/McDonald's | 187.305 | 28.830 | –0.558 |
| 17 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevy | Harris Teeter | 187.272 | 28.835 | –0.563 |
| 18 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevy | Nationwide | 187.084 | 28.864 | –0.592 |
| 19 | 34 | Chris Buescher | Ford | CSX – Play It Safe | 187.065 | 28.867 | –0.595 |
| 20 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Cheez-It | 186.677 | 28.927 | –0.655 |
| 21 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | 5-Hour Energy | 186.290 | 28.987 | –0.715 |
| 22 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Knauf / Menards | 186.181 | 29.004 | –0.732 |
| 23 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 186.156 | 29.008 | –0.736 |
| 24 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | U.S. Air Force | 186.002 | 29.032 | –0.760 |
| 25 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 185.848 | 29.056 | –0.784 |
| 26 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | DeWalt | 185.510 | 29.109 | –0.837 |
| 27 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | Hope for the Warriors | 185.350 | 29.134 | –0.862 |
| 28 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | Nature’s Bakery | 185.052 | 29.181 | –0.909 |
| 29 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | 184.508 | 29.267 | –0.995 |
| 30 | 23 | David Ragan | Toyota | Bubba Burger | 184.489 | 29.270 | –0.998 |
| 31 | 38 | Landon Cassill | Ford | MDS Transport | 184.326 | 29.296 | –1.024 |
| 32 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's RWB | 184.281 | 29.303 | –1.031 |
| 33 | 44 | Brian Scott | Ford | Twisted Tea | 183.580 | 29.415 | –1.143 |
| 34 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevy | Thrivent Financial | 183.436 | 29.438 | –1.166 |
| 35 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevy | Nikko RC | 183.057 | 29.499 | –1.227 |
| 36 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Pilot Flying J | 180.487 | 29.919 | –1.647 |
| 37 | 98 | Cole Whitt | Chevy | VYDOX Plus | 179.940 | 30.010 | –1.738 |
| 38 | 30 | Josh Wise | Chevy | Curtis Key Plumbing | 179.188 | 30.136 | –1.864 |
| 39 | 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ford | Can – Am | 178.843 | 30.194 | –1.922 |
| 40 | 55 | Reed Sorenson | Chevy | World Record Striper Co. | 176.154 | 30.655 | –2.383 |