Menard tops opening Cup practice at Dover

Paul Menard, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards ended the first Sprint Cup practice atop the scoreboard as preparations began for Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Menard (Richard Childress Racing) had the day’s fastest lap at 156.027 mph on the 1-mile concrete oval.

Kenseth and Edwards are among those in this year’s Chase For The Sprint Cup field. Others and their position in the first practice were:

Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports), fourth; Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing), fifth; Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick), sixth; Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing), seventh; Kurt Busch (Penske), 12th; Kevin Harvick (Childress), 16th; Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Hendrick), 19th; Denny Hamlin (Gibbs), 24th; Tony Stewart (Stewart-Haas Racing), 25th; and Ryan Newman (Stewart-Haas), 28th.

Teams have one additional practice Friday, slated to begin at 2:40 p.m. ET. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday (1:40 p.m. ET).

Sunday’s race will begin at 2 p.m.