Last year’s top rookie edges Harvick on Atlanta leaderboard
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RELATED: Full practice results
Kyle Larson, last year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, rocketed to the top of the leaderboard in opening practice Friday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Larson, driving the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet, registered a fast lap of 192.989 mph on the 1.54-mile track. He finished eighth in the series’ most recent race at Atlanta last September.
His lap was a hair better than defending series champion Kevin Harvick, who clocked a second-fastest lap of 192.607 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Harvick, the runner-up in last weekend’s season-opening Daytona 500, won the pole position and led a race-high 195 laps at Atlanta last September before fading to a 19th-place finish after crashing in a late restart.
Two high-profile substitutes had mixed fortunes in Friday’s first track time at Atlanta. David Ragan — filling in for Kyle Busch, who was injured in last weekend’s NASCAR XFINITY Series opener — drove the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota to the third-fastest lap at 192.547 mph. Regan Smith, subbing for the suspended Kurt Busch, piloted the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet to the 16th-best spot on the leaderboard at 190.876 mph.
Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano was fourth-fastest in opening practice for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX), the second race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin completed the top five in opening practice in another Joe Gibbs-owned Toyota.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series is scheduled later Friday at 5:45 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1).
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