Johnson tops opening practice at Dover

Jimmie Johnson circles The Monster Mile in Dover Friday

Jim Garrahan/AR1.com

Jimmie Johnson, who won at Dover International Speedway last fall on the way to his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup title, paced the first of two Cup practices Friday on the 1-mile concrete oval.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver turned a lap of 158.604 mph and one of five drivers to crack 158 mph. Richard Petty Motorsports’ AJ Allmendinger, Hendrick Motorsports’ Dale Earnhardt Jr., Red Bull Racing’s Kasey Kahne and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Joey Logano also topped the 158 mph mark during the session.

Qualifying is set for today. Sunday’s FexEx 400 is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.