RELATED: Final practice results | Practice 1 results
Martin Truex Jr. scooted to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leaderboard Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway, leading a 1-2-3 sweep by Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated cars in final practice.
Truex powered the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota to a fast lap of 187.696 mph on the 1.5-mile Kansas City track. The speed, while quickest in the field, was significantly slower than the track record of 197.612 mph set by Kevin Harvick in October 2014.
Kenseth, seeking his first victory of the season, drove the JGR No. 20 Toyota to the second-fastest lap at 187.617 mph. Denny Hamlin completed the top-three sweep for Gibbs-alliance entries, turning the third-best lap of 187.357 mph in the No. 11 Toyota.
Defending race winner Jimmie Johnson (187.285 mph) and defending Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch (187.214) completed the top five in final preparation for Saturday night’s GoBowling 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
Johnson was initially fastest early in the 80-minute session, but slowed with smoke pouring out from under the hood of his Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.
“Uh, oh. I’ve got smoke out the air box, like maybe Kasey Kahne had going on?” Johnson radioed his crew, mentioning a similar problem that his Hendrick teammate had earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway.
Johnson’s team cited an issue with the electronic control unit (ECU), part of the electronic fuel injection system. The crew did not have to change engines and Johnson returned to the track for the latter stages of practice.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. ET for the 11th Sprint Cup race of the year.
Kurt Busch paces opening practice
Propelling his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet at 185.893 mph, Kurt Busch topped the leaderboard early in Friday’s opening Sprint Cup Series practice at Kansas Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. came up next on the speed charts, his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota clocking in at 185.478 mph.
Carl Edwards was third-fastest in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (185.020 mph), while Richard Childress Racing‘s Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet (184.925 mph) and Roush Fenway Racing‘s Trevor Bayne in the No. 6 Ford (184.811 mph) rounded out the top five.
Series points leader Kevin Harvick was seventh-fastest with a fast lap of 184.565 mph in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Per NASCAR mandate, Jimmie Johnson was required to sit out the first 15 minutes of the 55-minute session, due to inspection issues last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Johnson — who is the reigning spring race winner at Kansas and tied for all-time leader in wins at the Midwestern track — ended up 11th-fastest on the leaderboard after turning 32 laps in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.