NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Kyle Busch Leads Phoenix Practice
Brad Keselowski 21st, Jimmie Johnson 27th as teams prepare for next-to-last race...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted November 09, 2012   Avondale, AZ
Kyle Busch drives the No. 18 Toyota at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Kyle Busch led Friday’s opening round of practice for Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway, while championship contenders Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski wound up in mid-pack.

Busch ran 137.788 miles per hour, setting up the virtual certainty that the track qualifying record will be broken in today’s time-trial session (6 p.m. on SPEED).

Johnson, the point leader, had the session’s 27th fastest speed, and Keselowski, seven points behind Johnson, was 21st. It is likely that both teams were working on qualifying setups during the session.

Rounding out the top five behind Busch were Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr.

In the second five were Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon.

Jeff Burton and Sam Hornish Jr. damaged their cars in wrecks during the session and went to backups. Greg Biffle slapped the wall late in the practice, and it appeared that his team planned to make repairs to the car instead of going to a backup.

Two Sprint Cup practices are scheduled Saturday.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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