Ryan Blaney led the opening Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Kansas Speedway on Friday. Blaney, looking to score his third career win in the series on Sunday, posted a 28.106, 192.130 mph.
The North Carolina native enters Kansas with seven top five and 14 top 10 finishes along with a win in 2018. In seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Blaney has three top five and four top 10 finishes.
Kyle Busch sat second on the charts after posting a 28.159, 191.768 mph in the opening session. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota with seven trips to victory lane in 2018 enters the weekend looking to score his 25th top 10 finish of the season.
Kevin Harvick rounded out the top three in the opening practice session at the 1.5-mile oval. Harvick, one of 12 drivers racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, posted a 28.160, 191.761 mph in the session. If Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers can win on Sunday — it’ll mark their eighth win of the year and Harvick’s fourth win at the Midwest oval.
Playoff drivers Joey Logano and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five in practice.
Erik Jones, Paul Menard, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top 10.
Kyle Larson will move to a backup car after making contact with the wall off turn two. Larson sat 22nd in the opening practice session and was the deepest of the 12 Playoff drivers.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will go qualifying at 7:10 p.m. ET. on NBCSN and MRN.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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