Kyle Larson topped the leaderboard in Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway at 131.258 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Just behind was Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford at 131.105 mph.
RELATED: Practice results | Phoenix schedule
Completing the top five behind them were Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford and Chase Briscoe in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
Ross Chastain, the series points leader, was 26th-fastest with a speed of 128.315 mph in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
The 50-minute session served as the debut for NASCAR’s new rule package, featured on most short ovals and all road courses in 2023. The configuration includes a 2-inch spoiler and fewer strakes underneath the car, reducing downforce by approximately 30%.
MORE: Get up to speed on the package | Chastain rebuilding confidence
Fords performed notably well in single-lap speed during the Friday warmup, placing seven of the manufacturer’s entrants inside the top 10, including RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in sixth, Wood Brothers Racing sophomore Harrison Burton in eighth and SHR teammates Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola rounding out ninth and 10th.
Toyota, on the other hand, did not place a car inside the top 15 in one-lap speeds. The quickest of Toyota’s six cars was Bubba Wallace in 16th, who wheeled the No. 23 23XI Racing Camry around the track at 129.413 mph.
Ten-lap averages saw Larson quickest of the bunch at 129.311 mph, ahead of Blaney, Logano, Harvick and Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. Wallace turned in the sixth-quickest 10-lap average over Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Stenhouse and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick.
Farther down the speed chart in both categories was Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Busch, the two-time Cup Series champion, posted the 29th-fastest single lap at 127.927 mph and didn’t fare much better in 10-lap runs: 27th at 126.353 mph. Teammate Austin Dillon was 15th-quickest in one-lap speeds but ranked 30th of the 34 cars which ran 10 laps, turning an average speed of 125.428 mph.
The Cup Series returns to the track for qualifying at Phoenix on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. ET with live coverage on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.