Hamlin speeds to fastest opening practice lap in Charlotte

Denny Hamlin topped the leaderboard in Thursday's opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, circling the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 190.134 mph. Team Penske's Fords showed speed in following close behind Hamlin as teammates Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski were second- and third-fastest in the practice session in preparation for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 (6 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Blaney circled the track in his No. 12 Ford in 189.673 mph; Keselowski followed close behind in his No. 2 Ford at 189.434 mph. RELATED: Full schedule for Charlotte | Practice results Defending Coca-Cola 600 winner Austin Dillon was fourth-fastest in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 189.414 mph. Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones rounded out the top five in the No. 20 Toyota at 189.261 mph. Several cars served 15-minute practice holds during Thursday's opening practice. Among those penalized for twice failing pre-race inspection at Kansas (penalties deferred until Thursday) were: No. 17 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 32 of Matt DiBenedetto, No. 47 of AJ Allmendinger and No. 95 of Kasey Kahne. Cars serving 15-minute holds for twice failing inspection at the All-Star Race/Monster Energy Open were: No. 3 of Austin Dillon, No. 4 of Kevin Harvick, No. 19 of Daniel Suarez, No. 38 of David Ragan and No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson. Finally, the No. 15 of Ross Chastain served a 15-minute hold for missing the rookie meeting. The Monster Energy Series returns to the track at 7:15 p.m. ET for Busch Pole Qualifying (FS1).