Kenseth and Truex run identical speeds, top first Richmond practice

After five minutes, Kenseth topped the speed chart with a single-lap of 120.897mph which held up through the 55-minute session. Kenseth is currently eighth in the Monster Energy Cup standings but still looking for his first victory in 2017.

“I feel like this is one of our better tracks,” Kenseth said. “We qualified well in the spring, led a lot early, then got off on our setup a little bit at the end of the race. Really I’m still thinking about trying to get that win.”

Martin Truex Jr. was second quick followed by Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Kenseth completed nine laps during the first five minutes of the first practice session. Truex (120.897mph) was second and matched Kenseth’s speed — followed by Keselowski (120.380mph), Earnhardt (120.032mph), Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Bowyer and Danica Patrick. Thirty-one drivers completed initial laps.

Kenseth and Truex held the top two positions after 15 minutes with Kyle Busch (120.423mph) moving up to third followed by Kyle Larson (120.401mph), Keselowski, Earnhardt, Denny Hamlin (120.011mph) Jones, Kevin Harvick and Stenhouse.

Halfway through the session, the top 10 drivers had not changed on the speed chart. Logano was 11th followed by Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Patrick, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney.

Hamlin led the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category with a speed of 118.948mph followed by Keselowski (118.808mph), Bowyer (118.749mph), Newman (118.636mph), Harvick (118.522mph), Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Stenhouse, Patrick and Jones.

The top 10 drivers’ speed held throughout the session. Michael McDowell’s 58 laps were the most completed.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	51	22.333			120.897
2	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	29	22.333	0.000	0.000	120.897
3	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	36	22.421	0.088	0.088	120.423
4	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	25	22.425	0.092	0.004	120.401
5	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	39	22.429	0.096	0.004	120.380
6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	47	22.494	0.161	0.065	120.032
7	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	51	22.498	0.165	0.004	120.011
8	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	46	22.512	0.179	0.014	119.936
9	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	23	22.513	0.180	0.001	119.931
10	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	41	22.533	0.200	0.020	119.824
11	22	Joey Logano	Ford	37	22.550	0.217	0.017	119.734
12	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	43	22.557	0.224	0.007	119.697
13	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	37	22.571	0.238	0.014	119.623
14	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	39	22.590	0.257	0.019	119.522
15	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	39	22.595	0.262	0.005	119.495
16	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	21	22.599	0.266	0.004	119.474
17	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	49	22.620	0.287	0.021	119.363
18	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	49	22.636	0.303	0.016	119.279
19	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	43	22.652	0.319	0.016	119.195
20	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	38	22.652	0.319	0.000	119.195
21	38	David Ragan	Ford	32	22.668	0.335	0.016	119.111
22	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	44	22.678	0.345	0.010	119.058
23	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	29	22.686	0.353	0.008	119.016
24	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	47	22.709	0.376	0.023	118.896
25	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	38	22.789	0.456	0.080	118.478
26	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	29	22.796	0.463	0.007	118.442
27	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	40	22.809	0.476	0.013	118.374
28	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	46	22.888	0.555	0.079	117.966
29	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	41	22.939	0.606	0.051	117.703
30	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	29	22.942	0.609	0.003	117.688
31	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	20	22.957	0.624	0.015	117.611
32	83	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	22	23.025	0.692	0.068	117.264
33	55	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	21	23.091	0.758	0.066	116.929
34	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	25	23.116	0.783	0.025	116.802
35	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	58	23.157	0.824	0.041	116.595
36	23	Gray Gaulding	Toyota	27	23.401	1.068	0.244	115.380
37	33	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Chevrolet	39	23.503	1.170	0.102	114.879
38	51	Cody Ware	Chevrolet	11	23.803	1.470	0.300	113.431
39	15	Derrike Cope	Toyota	24	23.918	1.585	0.115	112.886