Matt Kenseth, with a lap speed of 186.285mph, was the quickest Friday afternoon during the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) practice session for Sunday’s John Wayne Walding 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Posting the second quickest lap speed of 186.070mph, was Clint Bowyer; followed by Brad Keselowski (185.939mph) who was third, Jimmie Johnson (185.647) fourth and series Rookie of the Year (ROTY) candidate, Kyle Larson (185.445) was fifth.
Rounding out the top-10 quickest drivers in the session were Kurt Busch (185.117mph) who was sixth, Kyle Busch (185.113 seventh, Joey Logano (184.858) eighth, Marcos Ambrose (184.740) ninth and Kevin Harvick (184.721) posting the tenth quickest lap speed.
The teams will return to the track on Saturday morning for their “Happy Hour” (final) practice from 9:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. (ET) before returning at 2:10 p.m. (ET) that afternoon for qualifying to determine the starting lineup for Sunday’s race. (Note: The current qualifying track record of 187.531mph, was set last year by Ryan Newman).
The 21st annual Crown Royal presents, the John Wayne Walding 400 at The Brickyard, is scheduled for an approximate starting time of 1:20 p.m. (ET) Sunday afternoon, and ESPN will begin their television coverage at 12:00 p.m. (ET).
| John Wayne Walding 400 First Practice Results | ||||||
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Best Speed | Best Time | Behind | # Laps |
| 1 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | 186.285 | 48.313 | Leader | 24 |
| 2 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 186.070 | 48.369 | -0.056 | 21 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 185.939 | 48.403 | -0.090 | 21 |
| 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 185.647 | 48.479 | -0.166 | 29 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson # | 185.445 | 48.532 | -0.219 | 17 |
| 6 | 41 | Kurt Busch | 185.117 | 48.618 | -0.305 | 15 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | 185.113 | 48.619 | -0.306 | 27 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | 184.858 | 48.686 | -0.373 | 23 |
| 9 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | 184.740 | 48.717 | -0.404 | 18 |
| 10 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 184.721 | 48.722 | -0.409 | 10 |
| 11 | 14 | Tony Stewart | 183.793 | 48.968 | -0.655 | 15 |
| 12 | 31 | Ryan Newman | 183.587 | 49.023 | -0.710 | 16 |
| 13 | 55 | Brian Vickers | 183.307 | 49.098 | -0.785 | 17 |
| 14 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 182.408 | 49.340 | -1.027 | 22 |
| 15 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | 182.290 | 49.372 | -1.059 | 34 |
| 16 | 10 | Danica Patrick | 182.216 | 49.392 | -1.079 | 18 |
| 17 | 43 | Aric Almirola | 181.973 | 49.458 | -1.145 | 10 |
| 18 | 3 | Austin Dillon # | 181.962 | 49.461 | -1.148 | 13 |
| 19 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 181.910 | 49.475 | -1.162 | 12 |
| 20 | 99 | Carl Edwards | 191.496 | 49.588 | -1.275 | 15 |
| 21 | 21 | Trevor Bayne* (i) | 181.477 | 49.593 | -1.280 | 11 |
| 22 | 83 | Ryan Truex # | 181.283 | 49.646 | -1.333 | 15 |
| 23 | 7 | Michael Annett # | 181.061 | 49.707 | -1.394 | 18 |
| 24 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 180.937 | 49.741 | -1.428 | 34 |
| 25 | 27 | Paul Menard | 180.897 | 49.752 | -1.439 | 17 |
| 26 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | 180.636 | 49.824 | -1.511 | 12 |
| 27 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 180.166 | 49.954 | -1.641 | 20 |
| 28 | 12 | Juan Pablo Montoya* | 180.144 | 49.960 | -1.647 | 20 |
| 29 | 66 | Brett Moffitt | 180.040 | 49.989 | -1.676 | 8 |
| 30 | 34 | David Ragan | 179.971 | 50.008 | -1.695 | 17 |
| 31 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 179.842 | 50.044 | -1.731 | 15 |
| 32 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | 179.194 | 50.225 | -1.912 | 15 |
| 33 | 95 | Michael McDowell | 179.019 | 50.274 | -1.961 | 15 |
| 34 | 13 | Casey Mears | 178.923 | 50.301 | -1.988 | 13 |
| 35 | 51 | Justin Allgaier # | 178.593 | 50.394 | -2.081 | 19 |
| 36 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | 178.398 | 50.449 | -2.136 | 18 |
| 37 | 32 | Travis Kvapil | 177.725 | 50.640 | -2.327 | 12 |
| 38 | 33 | David Stremme | 177.438 | 50.722 | -2.409 | 4 |
| 39 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | 177.284 | 50.766 | -2.453 | 11 |
| 40 | 40 | Landon Cassill (i) | 177.050 | 50.833 | -2.520 | 10 |
| 41 | 37 | Bobby Labonte | 176.025 | 51.129 | -2.816 | 8 |
| 42 | 98 | Josh Wise | 175.771 | 51.203 | -2.890 | 5 |
| 43 | 23 | Alex Bowman # | 175.524 | 51.275 | -2.962 | 13 |
| 44 | 38 | David Gilliland | 175.022 | 51.422 | -3.109 | 13 |
| 45 | 26 | Cole Whitt # | 174.132 | 51.685 | -3.372 | 12 |
| 46 | 29 | Matt Crafton* (i) | 173.444 | 51.890 | -3.577 | 11 |
(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series, # – Rookie, * Required to Qualify on Time
