RELATED: Practice 1 results | 10-lap times | Full schedule for Atlanta
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rose to the top of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series leaderboard in Friday’s opening practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Stenhouse pushed the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford to a best lap of 186.384 mph on the 1.54-mile track. His lap came late in the 80-minute session, knocking Kyle Larson off the top spot.
Larson held onto the second position in the opening tune-up for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM). He secured a 185.915 mph lap in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet.
Darrell Wallace Jr., last weekend’s runner-up in the Daytona 500, was third-fastest (185.834 mph) in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet. Ty Dillon and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five in opening practice.
Daytona 500 champ Austin Dillon turned the 28th-fastest lap in the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet. Defending race winner Brad Keselowski clocked in with the 24th-best lap in the Team Penske No. 2 Ford.
Pole qualifying for Sunday’s event, the second of the Monster Energy Series’ season, is scheduled Friday at 5:15 p.m. (FS1, PRN, SiriusXM).