Kurt Busch leads final practice at Indianapolis

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver jumped to the lead near the end of the final session, putting up a high speed of 181.987 mph.

Coming up short in speed to the No. 41 driver was Kevin Harvick (181.763 mph).

Kyle Larson (181.357 mph), Jimmie Johnson (180.697 mph) and Martin Truex Jr. (180.672 mph) rounded out the top-five fastest on the leaderboard.

Denny Hamlin led the series’ first practice at the Brickyard, but fell to 31st-fastest in the final round.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also led a practice session, but was 32nd-fastest, right behind Hamlin, in the closing run.

Jeff Gordon, the defending race winner, finished 23rd-fastest in the final session.

The Sprint Cup Series takes the track at the Brickyard for the Coors Light Pole Qualifying session tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Network/Live Extra).

Practice 2: Full results

A fast lap of 181.466 mph sent Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 soaring to the top of the leaderboard early during Friday’s second practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver found more speed in this session, having posted a high speed of 181.046 mph (ranked seventh) in the opening session this morning at the Brickyard.

Team Penske‘s Brad Keselowski came up just behind Earnhardt, scoring a fast lap of 181.448 mph in his No. 2 Ford to snag the second spot.

Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne ranked third (181.408 mph), while Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates’ Kyle Larson (181.378 mph) and Michael Waltrip Racing‘s Clint Bowyer (181.331 mph) rounded out the top five.

Last year’s Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon showed speed again in this session, propelling around the famed speedway at 181.189 mph to earn the sixth spot.

Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick was 14th-fastest, rounding the Indiana track at 179.583 mph in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Reigning XFINITY champion Chase Elliott — who will be making his fourth Sprint Cup Series start in Sunday’s 400-mile event — clocked a fast lap of 178.798 mph in his No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, giving him the 17th-fastest speed in the field.

After topping the opening practice, Denny Hamlin ran into trouble early in the second session when the hood of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota flew up and hit the windshield. The bizarre occurance — which NASCAR determined was caused by the hood not being properly pinned down — brought out the caution for debris. His No. 11 team replaced the hood and the windshield and Hamlin returned to the race track to score the 12th-fastest speed.

Paul Menard‘s No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet returned to the track after hitting the wall during opening practice. The 2011 Brickyard 400 winner ranked 22nd on the leaderboard.

Practice 1: Full results

Denny Hamlin rose to the top of the leaderboard Friday morning in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice as teams got their first taste of a new aerodynamic package at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hamlin drove the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota to a fast lap of 182.208 mph on the 2.5-mile track. The 34-year-old driver won the Coors Light Pole Award at the Brickyard in 2012.

Jimmie Johnson, a four-time Brickyard winner, managed the second-fastest lap at 181.796 mph in the 85-minute session, but the show of speed was tempered by a fuel-pressure issue that brought the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet to a halt on the track at the 50-minute mark of practice. He was pushed back to the garage with help from the No. 14 Chevy of Tony Stewart.

Defending Sprint Cup Series champion and current points leader Kevin Harvick was third-fastest at 181.756 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet in preparation for Sunday’s Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMS, SiriusXM).

Five-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon was fourth-fastest at 181.444 mph in preparation for his final race at the historic speedway. Gordon prevailed in the inaugural NASCAR race at Indy in 1994 and triumphed last season to top the series’ all-time win list at the 2.5-mile track.

Stewart, a two-time Brickyard winner, completed the top five on the leaderboard.

With new aero devices in place to make the cars less smooth through the air, Hamlin’s speed was significantly slower than Matt Kenseth‘s 186.285 mph lap that led first practice at the Brickyard last year. The lap was also off the 188.470-mph pace set by Kevin Harvick in Coors Light Pole Qualifying at Indianapolis in 2014.

The new high-drag rules package was designed with the hopes of promoting more side-by-side racing at the rectangular track, where passing has typically been difficult. The biggest aerodynamic change was to the rear spoiler, which was raised to a 9-inch height and capped by a new wicker bill on top.

Though a portion of the larger spoiler is made of clear, hard Lexan plastic, a handful of drivers — Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano among them — complained of some visibility issues in their rear view.

Chase Elliott, set to replace Gordon as a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet next season, was 15th-fastest in preparation for the fourth Sprint Cup start of his career. His No. 25 Chevy from the Hendrick stables clocked a best lap of 179.939 mph.

Former Indianapolis winner Paul Menard scraped the outside retaining wall at approximately the 30-minute mark, causing slight damage to the right side of the Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet. After repairs, Menard was able to return to the track, setting the 21st-fastest lap.

Two more practices are scheduled Friday for the Sprint Cup Series — 1-2:25 p.m. ET and 4-5:55 p.m. ET, with both broadcast on NBC Sports Network. Coors Light Pole Qualifying, which will use single-car runs to set the 43-car field, is scheduled Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET.