Kasey Kahne paces opening Cup practice at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. - Richard Petty Motorsports' Kasey Kahne led opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday in preparation for Sunday's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Kahne, who is 11th in the series standings, turned a lap of 195.944 mph, while fellow Chaser Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) was second.
Rounding out the top five were Paul Menard (Yates Racing), Erik Darnell (Hall of Fame Racing), and Joey Logano (JGR).
Sixth through 10th were Chase driver Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing), Robby Gordon (Robby Gordon Motorsports), Casey Mears (Richard Childress Racing), Michael Waltrip (Michael Waltrip Racing) and Jeff Burton (RCR).
Other Chase driver were as follows: Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) 13th, Jeff Gordon (Hendrick) 16th, Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway) 17th, Ryan Newman (Stewart-Haas Racing) 19th, Kurt Busch (Penske Racing) 20th, Tony Stewart (SHR) 25th, Mark Martin (Hendrick) 26th, Brian Vickers (Red Bull Racing) 33rd and Juan Pablo Montoya (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing) 36th.
Penske Racing's Sam Hornish Jr. went to a backup car after an early crash as cars slowed in a tight pack on the track. Richard Childress Racing's Clint Bowyer also sustained significant damage to his car in the incident.
Final practice is slated to begin at 4 p.m. EDT and teams return to the track Saturday at 12:15 p.m EDT for qualifying.
