Kyle Larson finds his stride atop first practice at Kansas

RELATED: Practice 1 results | Full schedule for Kansas Kyle Larson sped to the top of the leaderboard in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway. Larson pushed the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet to a best lap of 189.056 mph around the 1.5-mile Kansas City track. He sits third in the NASCAR Playoffs standings ahead of Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the final race in the postseason's Round of 12. Kevin Harvick, a two-time Kansas winner, was second-fastest in the 85-minute session, clocking 187.500 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford. Kyle Busch was third in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota with Ryan Blaney fourth in the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. RELATED: Qualifying results | Blaney's time disallowed Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. turned in the fifth-fastest lap in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota, as championship-eligible drivers swept the top five. Both he and Brad Keselowski (24th-fastest in first practice) have automatically advanced to the Round of 8 by virtue of their victories earlier in the current round. [do_widget id=driver_comparison_graph_widget-2] The top spot changed hands several times over the last half-hour of practice as teams turned their focus to making mock qualifying passes. Coors Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled Friday at 6:15 p.m. ET (NBCSN) for the sixth event in the 10-race Playoffs. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet brushed the outside retaining wall at the exit of Turn 4 at approximately the 15-minute mark of practice.