RELATED: Practice results
Propelling his No. 22 Team Penske Ford at 98.826 mph around Martinsville Speedway, Joey Logano earned the top spot on the leaderboard during Friday’s opening practice. Logano, who is riding a three-race win streak, ran qualifying trim to earn the top spot.
Jeff Gordon was second on the charts, posting the second-fastest speed with a fast lap of 98.364 mph. Gordon’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has earned eight wins at the paperclip oval, tying teammate Jimmie Johnson for the all-time track winner in the modern era.
Team Penske‘s Brad Keselowski (98.338 mph), Stewart-Haas Racing‘s Kevin Harvick (98.328 mph) and Germain Racing‘s Casey Mears (98.195 mph) rounded out the top five. Mears was the only non-Chase contender in the top five.
Kurt Busch was the slowest of the eight Chase drivers, ranking 22nd on the speed charts with a fast lap of 97.754 mph in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Reigning race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. wheeled his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports ride at 97.598 mph to snag the 24th position.
Denny Hamlin, who earned his Chase-clinching victory at the Virgina short track in March, was 12th-fastest on the charts with a top speed of 98.053 mph.
The Sprint Cup Series is back on track at Martinsville at 4:20 p.m. ET for Coors Light Pole qualifying (NBCSN/Live Extra).