MARTINSVILLE, Va. — New era Martinsville master Denny Hamlin took fresh colors to the top of the board on Saturday, topping the opening round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice for the First Data 500.
Hamlin wheeled the No. 11 FedEx/Walgreens Toyota to a lap of 19.846 seconds (95.415 mph) around Martinsville Speedway, his best of 71 circuits around the .526-mile paper-clip and best among the 39 drivers who took time.
The 36-year-old from Chesterfield, Va. is seeking his 32nd-career Cup victory and sixth Ridgeway grandfather clock this weekend. He last won at Martinsville in March of 2015.
Behind Hamlin’s Toyota was a pair of drivers representing the ‘Bowtie Brigade’, with Kyle Larson carrying the banner for the race sponsor by posting the second-fastest lap of 19.870 seconds (95.299 mph) in the No. 42 First Data Chevrolet.
Ryan Newman was third overall (19.900/95.156), followed by Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch.
Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger and Ty Dillon completed the top-10 on speed in the opening practice.
Though four playoff drivers were among the top six in the session, four playoff drivers struggled and found themselves outside the top-15 after the first 50 minutes of on-track time.
Chase Elliott (17th), Martin Truex Jr. (21st), seven-time and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (22nd) and Kevin Harvick (23rd) all lacked speed and will be looking to rectify their placements in the rundown during final practice later in the day.
Happy Hour for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kicks off at 4 p.m. ET, live on NBCSN, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
Full practice results can be viewed on the next page…
