RELATED: Practice 1 results | Full weekend for Chicagoland
Kyle Busch zipped to the top of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard Friday at Chicagoland Speedway, setting the fast time in the first practice for the opening race of the 2017 Playoffs.
Busch powered the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota to a best lap of 184.143 mph on the 1.5-mile track. He’ll seek his second Chicago victory in Sunday’s Tales of the Turtles 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM).
Championship-eligible drivers dominated the top end of the leaderboard, posting 10 of the fastest 12 speeds. But second-fastest among the front-runners was rookie Daniel Suarez, a non-playoff driver who managed a 183.418 mph lap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota.
Denny Hamlin made it a 1-2-3 sweep for Gibbs cars, landing the third-fastest lap (182.921 mph) in the No. 11 Toyota. Top-seeded Martin Truex Jr. was fourth-fastest with Kevin Harvick completing the top five in the 85-minute session.
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled Friday at 6:45 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App).