RELATED: Practice 1 results | Final practice results | Best 10-lap times | Weekend schedule
Kasey Kahne landed atop the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard Friday afternoon, leading a 1-2 Hendrick Motorsports sweep in final practice at Talladega Superspeedway.
Kahne powered the No. 5 Chevrolet to a best lap of 191.222 mph around the 2.66-mile Alabama track to pace the 55-minute session. He was just ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., his Hendrick teammate who turned a 191.069 mph lap in the No. 88 Chevrolet in preparation for his final Talladega start.
Kurt Busch, Trevor Bayne and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in final preparation for Sunday's Alabama 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The event is the second of three races in the Round of 12, the second phase of eliminations in the NASCAR Playoffs.
Jimmie Johnson returned to the track after a spin kept him from completing a lap in Friday's earlier practice. Johnson wound up 14th on the speed chart in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.
Final practice featured lighter participation, with just 23 of the 40 cars entered posting laps, mainly in single-car runs. Several teams took to the track in packs in opening practice, yielding higher speeds.
Several cars were held out of final practice because of technical infractions and failed inspections in previous weeks.
Teams with 30-minute deductions in final practice:
Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet for driver Jamie McMurray
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford for Kevin Harvick
Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet of Kasey Kahne
Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford of Trevor Bayne
Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet of Chase Elliott
Go Fas Racing No. 32 Ford of Matt DiBenedetto
Furniture Row Racing No. 77 Toyota of Erik Jones
Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Teams with 15-minute deductions in final practice:
Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet of Austin Dillon
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford of Danica Patrick
Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Ford of Clint Bowyer
Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota of Daniel Suarez
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota of Matt Kenseth
Team Penske No. 22 Ford of Joey Logano
JTG Daugherty Racing No. 37 Chevrolet of Chris Buescher
JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger
Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson
Premium Motorsports No. 55 Toyota of DJ Kennington
Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr.
Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Chevrolet of Michael McDowell
Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled Saturday at 4:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN).
Keselowski corrals fastest lap in first practice
Brad Keselowski secured the fastest lap in opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Keselowski, a four-time Talladega winner, registered a best speed of 197.859 mph on the 2.66-mile track, his Team Penske No. 2 Ford benefiting from an aerodynamic draft in a multi-car pack.
Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch was second-fastest at 197.806 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford. Ryan Blaney was third-fastest, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the winner in two of the three restrictor-plate races this year, fourth-fastest in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford. Kevin Harvick completed the top five in the opening 55-minute session.
Sunday's Alabama 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the fifth of 10 races in the postseason and the middle event in the three-race Round of 12 elimination phase. The unpredictable nature of the track's typical close-quarters racing threatens to shake up the standings ahead of next weekend's round-ending race at Kansas.
Seven-time series champ Jimmie Johnson was hit with some early unpredictability, running over a piece of debris and cutting the left-rear tire on his Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet. The car spun getting up to speed in Turns 3 and 4, but managed to avoid contact with the retaining wall.
Johnson's Chevy was pushed back to the garage to evaluate potential damage from sliding down the 33-degree banking to the apron and infield grass. He did not post a lap in the practice session.
"Nothing major. It looks like we will stay with this car," Johnson said from the garage. "There might be some panels to push out and straighten out, stuff like that. Probably a new splitter on the car. But all in all, got away with one there for sure."
Joey Logano, winner of the last two October races at Talladega, was ninth-fastest in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford.
Several teams were scheduled to lose practice time Friday because of technical infractions and failed inspections in previous weeks.
Two teams had 30-minute deductions enforced in opening practice -- the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota of points leader Martin Truex Jr. and the JTG Daugherty No. 47 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger. Those two teams are also on deck for 15-minute holds in final practice, for a total of 45 minutes.