Kyle Busch leads action-packed first practice at Watkins Glen

Busch posted the fastest single-lap speed on the 2.45-mile road course in first practice on Saturday with a lap of 125.516mph.

Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10 speeds.

Logano set the early pace on his first four-lap run but six minutes into the session, Dale Earnhardt Jr., spun followed by Corey LaJoie, who went off the track coming into the carousel (Turn 5). LaJoie hit the guard rail with a flat left rear tire. He had completed two laps.

Logano continued to lead the session followed by McMurray, Harvick, Allmendinger, Menard, Keselowski, Stenhouse, Elliott, Buescher and Kahne.

The track returned to green with 36 minutes remaining when Jimmie Johnson spun out and the right front went into rail entering Turn 1. Johnson had completed his first lap and was 32nd on the board.

Before the field could get rolling, Gary Klutt spun to trigger the red flag. The No. 15 had to be pushed off the 2.45-second circuit.

Practice resumed with 32-minutes remaining. Keselowski went to the top of the board with a lap of 123.736mph on his sixth lap. Michael McDowell (123.736mph) vaulted over the No. 2 Ford, then Logano regained the top spot with a lap of 123.920mph. Keselowski (124.103mph) leap-frogged over his teammate and was coming around Turn 5 when Danica Patrick spun sideways in front of him with 29 minutes on the clock.

Chase Elliott (123.897mph) was third followed by McDowell, McMurray, Bowyer, Truex, Kahne, Kurt Busch and Harvick rounded out the top-10 single-lap speeds 30-minutes in.

Johnson returned to the track with 25 minutes to go. He ran three laps and moved up to 17th with a top lap of 123.214mph.

“There is no grip in the car,” said 2014 Watkins Glen winner AJ Allmendinger. “I can’t touch the brakes without wheel hopping.” He was 22nd on the board with a lap of 122.946mph.

Kyle Busch took over the top spot with a lap of 124.866mph. Logano, Keselowski, Elliott, McMurray, McDowell, Harvick, Jones, Bowyer and Kenseth held onto the top 10 speeds with 15 minutes left in the session.

Hamlin moved up to second after his 10th lap with a speed of 124.546mph. Martin Truex Jr. (124.508mph) bumped Logano for third with 10-minutes remaining in first practice. On his next (ninth) lap, Truex advanced to P2 with a lap of 124.797mph. Busch’s ninth lap produced a single-lap speed of 125.516mph.

Kurt Busch spun coming into 1 and grazed the wall on his 12th lap. He was 14th-quick with a lap of 123.329mph.

Rookies Jones and Ty Dillon’s 17 laps were the most led during the 55-minute session.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Mph
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	15	70.270			125.516
2	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	12	70.675	0.405	0.405	124.797
3	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	13	70.817	0.547	0.142	124.546
4	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	14	70.829	0.559	0.012	124.525
5	77	Erik Jones	Toyota	17	70.862	0.592	0.033	124.467
6	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	15	70.875	0.605	0.013	124.444
7	22	Joey Logano	Ford	15	71.004	0.734	0.129	124.218
8	24	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	14	71.145	0.875	0.141	123.972
9	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	14	71.217	0.947	0.072	123.847
10	95	Michael McDowell	Chevrolet	16	71.281	1.011	0.064	123.736
11	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	15	71.302	1.032	0.021	123.699
12	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford	11	71.307	1.037	0.005	123.691
13	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	11	71.467	1.197	0.160	123.414
14	41	Kurt Busch	Ford	12	71.516	1.246	0.049	123.329
15	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet	12	71.544	1.274	0.028	123.281
16	21	Ryan Blaney	Ford	15	71.556	1.286	0.012	123.260
17	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	15	71.566	1.296	0.010	123.243
18	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	11	71.571	1.301	0.005	123.234
19	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	13	71.587	1.317	0.016	123.207
20	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	10	71.674	1.404	0.087	123.057
21	10	Danica Patrick	Ford	11	71.715	1.445	0.041	122.987
22	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota	14	71.738	1.468	0.023	122.947
23	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	14	71.739	1.469	0.001	122.946
24	6	Trevor Bayne	Ford	16	71.745	1.475	0.006	122.935
25	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	12	71.778	1.508	0.033	122.879
26	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	12	71.935	1.665	0.157	122.611
27	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	17	72.120	1.850	0.185	122.296
28	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	15	72.140	1.870	0.020	122.262
29	38	David Ragan	Ford	11	72.279	2.009	0.139	122.027
30	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	11	72.358	2.088	0.079	121.894
31	72	Cole Whitt	Chevrolet	10	72.483	2.213	0.125	121.684
32	34	Landon Cassill	Ford	19	72.865	2.595	0.382	121.046
33	33	Boris Said	Chevrolet	5	73.076	2.806	0.211	120.696
34	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford	4	73.821	3.551	0.745	119.478
35	15	Gary Klutt	Chevrolet	9	73.951	3.681	0.130	119.268
36	23	Corey Lajoie	Toyota	2	74.119	3.849	0.168	118.998
37	83	Brett Moffitt	Toyota		0.000			0.000