Clint Bowyer tops Friday's final Cup practice at Talladega

While drafting with his teammates late in the 50-minute session, Bowyer went to the top of the scoring monitor with an average lap of 202.042 mph. Aric Almirola was second (200.835 mph).

Bowyer’s start Sunday will be the 500th of his Cup Series career.

“It’s a long time, though – a lot of races,” Bowyer said. “It’s something to be proud of, to stay relevant enough and to stay in equipment for that long for 500 races is something that any driver or any individual that’s in a sport for that long, compared to about any other sport that’s a long time to be in a professional sport.”

Matt Crafton, who drove some laps in Paul Menard’s No. 21 Ford, was third-fastest (200.814 mph). Kevin Harvick was fourth and Ryan Preece completed the top-five.

Crafton, a two-time Truck Series champion, is on standby for Menard throughout the weekend. Menard is suffering 

Rounding out the top-10 speeds were Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman and Matt DiBenedetto.

In all, the top six drivers surpassed the 200 mph mark. In Friday’s first practice session, the top 33 cars posted an average speed better than 200 mph, with the top seven better than 203 mph.

Cla	#	Driver		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	14	Clint Bowyer		Ford	19	47.396			202.042
2	10	Aric Almirola		Ford	23	47.681	0.285	0.285	200.835
3	21	Paul Menard		Ford	21	47.686	0.290	0.005	200.814
4	4	Kevin Harvick		Ford	24	47.734	0.338	0.048	200.612
5	47	Ryan Preece		Chevrolet	14	47.761	0.365	0.027	200.498
6	88	Alex Bowman		Chevrolet	24	47.877	0.481	0.116	200.013
7	2	Brad Keselowski		Ford	21	48.013	0.617	0.136	199.446
8	12	Ryan Blaney		Ford	14	48.031	0.635	0.018	199.371
9	6	Ryan Newman		Ford	8	48.042	0.646	0.011	199.326
10	95	Matt DiBenedetto		Toyota	6	48.062	0.666	0.020	199.243
11	22	Joey Logano		Ford	25	48.067	0.671	0.005	199.222
12	38	David Ragan		Ford	18	48.149	0.753	0.082	198.883
13	24	William Byron		Chevrolet	10	48.193	0.797	0.044	198.701
14	36	Matt Tifft		Ford	16	48.265	0.869	0.072	198.405
15	20	Erik Jones		Toyota	13	48.289	0.893	0.024	198.306
16	48	Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet	24	49.357	1.961	1.068	194.015
17	9	Chase Elliott		Chevrolet	10	49.501	2.105	0.144	193.451
18	3	Austin Dillon		Chevrolet	8	49.760	2.364	0.259	192.444
19	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.		Ford	5	50.014	2.618	0.254	191.466
20	13	Ty Dillon		Chevrolet	5	50.090	2.694	0.076	191.176
21	11	Denny Hamlin		Toyota	5	50.151	2.755	0.061	190.943
22	42	Kyle Larson		Chevrolet	22	50.238	2.842	0.087	190.613
23	8	Daniel Hemric		Chevrolet	8	50.258	2.862	0.020	190.537
24	34	Michael McDowell		Ford	13	50.380	2.984	0.122	190.075
25	41	Daniel Suarez		Ford	11	50.415	3.019	0.035	189.943
26	1	Kurt Busch		Chevrolet	17	50.458	3.062	0.043	189.782
27	18	Kyle Busch		Toyota	9	50.471	3.075	0.013	189.733
28	37	Chris Buescher		Chevrolet	5	50.495	3.099	0.024	189.643
29	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.		Chevrolet	6	50.506	3.110	0.011	189.601
30	19	Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota	6	50.554	3.158	0.048	189.421
31	66	Joey Gase		Toyota	10	50.938	3.542	0.384	187.993
32	96	Parker Kligerman		Toyota	13	50.995	3.599	0.057	187.783
33	00	Landon Cassill		Chevrolet	2	51.577	4.181	0.582	185.664