Kurt Busch leads opening Sprint Cup practice at Charlotte
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| Kurt Busch |
| Pete McCole/AR1.com |
Kurt Busch led Thursday's opening Sprint Cup practice session for Sunday's Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch drove a lap of 28.002 seconds (192.843 mph) in the no. 41 Chevrolet to top the early-afternoon session, turning his fastest lap on his final trip around he 1.5-mile oval. Jimmie Johnson was second, followed by Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson.
First Practice Results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Lap | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevy | Monster Energy | 192.843 | 28.002 | Leader |
| 2 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | Lowe's Patriotic | 191.252 | 28.235 | –0.233 |
| 3 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | Subway | 191.042 | 28.266 | –0.264 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | Jimmy John's | 190.772 | 28.306 | –0.304 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Target | 190.745 | 28.310 | –0.308 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 190.584 | 28.334 | –0.332 |
| 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Toyota | Bass Pro Shops | 190.496 | 28.347 | –0.345 |
| 8 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Fastenal | 190.416 | 28.359 | –0.357 |
| 9 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | Cessna/McDonald's | 190.369 | 28.366 | –0.364 |
| 10 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M's | 190.255 | 28.383 | –0.381 |
| 11 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Whelen | 190.107 | 28.405 | –0.403 |
| 12 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevy | NAPA Auto Parts | 190.087 | 28.408 | –0.406 |
| 13 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Advocare | 190.054 | 28.413 | –0.411 |
| 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 189.980 | 28.424 | –0.422 |
| 15 | 44 | Brian Scott | Ford | Twisted Tea | 189.947 | 28.429 | –0.427 |
| 16 | 21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | Motorcraft | 189.853 | 28.443 | –0.441 |
| 17 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Cheez-It | 189.747 | 28.459 | –0.457 |
| 18 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 189.600 | 28.481 | –0.479 |
| 19 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | U.S. Air Force | 189.600 | 28.481 | –0.479 |
| 20 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevy | Harris Teeter / Bush's Beans | 189.421 | 28.508 | –0.506 |
| 21 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | Cheerios | 189.135 | 28.551 | –0.549 |
| 22 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | LiftMaster | 189.095 | 28.557 | –0.555 |
| 23 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | 188.712 | 28.615 | –0.613 |
| 24 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Knauf / Menards | 188.640 | 28.626 | –0.624 |
| 25 | 34 | Chris Buescher | Ford | CSX – Play It Safe | 188.390 | 28.664 | –0.662 |
| 26 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | DeWalt | 188.291 | 28.679 | –0.677 |
| 27 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevy | Nationwide | 188.199 | 28.693 | –0.691 |
| 28 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | Mobil 1 | 188.048 | 28.716 | –0.714 |
| 29 | 23 | David Ragan | Toyota | Bubba Burger | 188.029 | 28.719 | –0.717 |
| 30 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | Nature’s Bakery | 188.022 | 28.720 | –0.718 |
| 31 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | 5-Hour Energy | 187.793 | 28.755 | –0.753 |
| 32 | 38 | Landon Cassill | Ford | MDS Transport | 187.474 | 28.804 | –0.802 |
| 33 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevy | Nikko RC | 187.195 | 28.847 | –0.845 |
| 34 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | Hope for the Warriors | 186.838 | 28.902 | –0.900 |
| 35 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevy | Thrivent Financial | 186.599 | 28.939 | –0.937 |
| 36 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Pilot Flying J | 184.037 | 29.342 | –1.340 |
| 37 | 98 | Cole Whitt | Chevy | VYDOX Plus | 183.849 | 29.372 | –1.370 |
| 38 | 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ford | Can – Am | 180.917 | 29.848 | –1.846 |
| 39 | 30 | Josh Wise | Chevy | Curtis Key Plumbing | 180.626 | 29.896 | –1.894 |
| 40 | 55 | Reed Sorenson | Chevy | World Record Striper Co | 175.461 | 30.776 | –2.774 |