RELATED: Practice 1 | Practice 2 | Top 10-lap consecutive averages
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Jimmie Johnson topped the leaderboard in the final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice session Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, going 196.386 mph in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Right behind him was Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 196.338 mph.
Rounding out the top five were Chase Elliott in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 196.334 mph, Carl Edwards in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 196.330 mph and Alex Bowman in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 196.330 mph.
Chase drivers Kevin Harvick (already guaranteed to advance to the Round of 8) and Brad Keselowski opted not to participate in the second practice session Friday.
All told, 25 cars took the track for the final session before Saturday’s qualifying at 4 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC SportsApp). Edwards felt a vibration in his car, and his No. 19 team changed the transmission in an effort to fix it.
In the first practice session earlier in the day, Roush Fenway Racing dominated with Greg Biffle logging the fastest time in his No. 16 Ford at 198.949 mph.
Right behind him was AJ Allmendinger in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet at 198.327 mph.
Chris Buescher was third in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford at 198.261 mph, while two more Roush Fenway Racing drivers rounded out the top five with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Ford at 198.261 mph and Trevor Bayne in the No. 6 Ford 198.105 mph.
Sprint Cup Series leader Johnson was 15th-fastest in the No. 48 Chevrolet at 195.632 mph.