RELATED: Final practice results | Practice 2 results
Kevin Harvick set the pace in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Saturday, putting his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet atop the leaderboard at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Harvick turned a lap of 134.577 mph around the relatively flat 1.058-mile track. The defending Sprint Cup champion is set to start second in Sunday's Sylvania 300 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM), the second event in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup postseason.
The top five on the speed chart was swept by Chase-eligible drivers. Kyle Busch landed the second spot on the leaderboard at 134.150 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota. Brad Keselowski was third-best at 134.032 mph in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford, with Jimmie Johnson fourth (133.943) in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.
Coors Light Pole winner Carl Edwards, who was fastest in the first two practices, completed the top five in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota. Edwards also posted the fastest 10-lap average at 133.149, leading fellow JGR drivers Busch and Denny Hamlin in the top three over the longer haul.
Hamlin won last week's Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, etching his name in the Contender Round, the next three-race stage of the 10-race playoffs. Hamlin, a two-time New Hampshire winner, was seventh-fastest on the leaderboard.
Defending race winner Joey Logano was 11th-fastest in the 50-minute session.
Edwards pours it on in Practice 2
Coors Light Pole Award winner Carl Edwards soared to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard Saturday morning, setting the pace in second practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Edwards backed up his pole-winning speed from Friday by circling the 1.058-mile track at a lap of 133.516 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota. He also led opening practice in preparation for Sunday's Sylvania 300 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM), the second race in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.
Edwards' only misstep was a slight scrape of the outside retaining wall with 10 minutes left in the 55-minute session. He resumed practice with the car showing little sign of damage.
RELATED: Edwards claims Coors Light Pole Award
Defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick was second-fastest in the second practice, clocking a lap of 133.427 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. He was followed by Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano in third and fourth respectively. Harvick's SHR teammate Kurt Busch completed the top five.
Denny Hamlin, Edwards' JGR teammate and last week's winner at Chicagoland Speedway, was eighth-fastest.
Harvick set the fastest 10-lap average at 132.412 mph. He was followed by Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hamlin in the top five in that category.
The practice was halted at the 22-minute mark after Jeffrey Earnhardt smacked the Turn 3 wall in the GoFAS Racing No. 32 Ford. Earnhardt told NBC Sports that he locked up the brakes over bumps on the backstraight entering the corner.