Brad Keselowski tops final Southern 500 practice
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| Brad Keselowski |
| Pete McCole/AR1 |
Brad Keselowski posted the fastest lap in Saturday's final Sprint Cup practice for Sunday night's Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Keselowski turned in a lap of 28.157 seconds (174.649 mph) in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion, carrying a throwback paint scheme based on the first Miller Lite beer can design from 1972.
Kurt Busch (174.031 mph), Jimmie Johnson (174.019 mph), Kasey Kahne (173.656 mph) and Paul Menard (173.454 mph) rounded out the top five in the final practice.
Pete McCole reporting from Darlington Raceway
Final Practice Results
| Pos. | # | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Time | Lap | Behind |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | 174.649 | 28.157 | Leader |
| 2 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevy | Haas VF1 / Monster Energy | 174.031 | 28.257 | –0.100 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | Lowe's | 174.019 | 28.259 | –0.102 |
| 4 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | LiftMaster | 173.656 | 28.318 | –0.161 |
| 5 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Valvoline / Menards | 173.454 | 28.351 | –0.194 |
| 6 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Hooters Ford Fusion | 173.234 | 28.387 | –0.230 |
| 7 | 19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | Arris | 172.826 | 28.454 | –0.297 |
| 8 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Ford | Fastenal Ford Fusion | 172.687 | 28.477 | –0.320 |
| 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Sport Clips | 172.566 | 28.497 | –0.340 |
| 10 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | Advocare | 172.541 | 28.501 | –0.344 |
| 11 | *21 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | Motorcraft | 172.505 | 28.507 | –0.350 |
| 12 | 24 | Chase Elliott | Chevy | NAPA Auto Parts | 172.499 | 28.508 | –0.351 |
| 13 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Target | 172.445 | 28.517 | –0.360 |
| 14 | 88 | Jeff Gordon | Chevy | Nationwide | 172.336 | 28.535 | –0.378 |
| 15 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Toyota | Auto-Owners Insurance | 172.312 | 28.539 | –0.382 |
| 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | American Ethanol | 172.203 | 28.557 | –0.400 |
| 17 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevy | Kroger | 172.185 | 28.560 | –0.403 |
| 18 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | Coca-Cola | 172.046 | 28.583 | –0.426 |
| 19 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | Busch | 171.944 | 28.600 | –0.443 |
| 20 | 34 | Chris Buescher | Ford | Love’s Travel Stops | 171.806 | 28.623 | –0.466 |
| 21 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | Nature's Bakery | 171.788 | 28.626 | –0.469 |
| 22 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | 171.776 | 28.628 | –0.471 |
| 23 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | 5-Hour Energy | 171.656 | 28.648 | –0.491 |
| 24 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | McDonald's | 171.464 | 28.680 | –0.523 |
| 25 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | STP | 171.226 | 28.720 | –0.563 |
| 26 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Caterpillar | 171.202 | 28.724 | –0.567 |
| 27 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | 171.166 | 28.730 | –0.573 |
| 28 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Tide PODS | 170.940 | 28.768 | –0.611 |
| 29 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Interstate Batteries | 170.348 | 28.868 | –0.711 |
| 30 | 44 | Brian Scott | Ford | Twisted Tea | 170.206 | 28.892 | –0.735 |
| 31 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevy | Nikko RC | 170.065 | 28.916 | –0.759 |
| 32 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Chevy | Thrivent Financial | 170.047 | 28.919 | –0.762 |
| 33 | 38 | Landon Cassill | Ford | Rumple Furniture | 170.006 | 28.926 | –0.769 |
| 34 | 23 | David Ragan | Toyota | I’m a Pepper | 169.619 | 28.992 | –0.835 |
| 35 | 83 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | Orange Crush | 167.716 | 29.321 | –1.164 |
| 36 | 46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Pilot Flying J | 166.309 | 29.569 | –1.412 |
| 37 | 98 | Cole Whitt | Chevy | Carolina Skiff | 163.609 | 30.057 | –1.900 |
| 38 | 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ford | Otter Pops | 162.964 | 30.176 | –2.019 |
| 39 | 30 | Josh Wise | Chevy | Incredible Bank | 162.120 | 30.333 | –2.176 |
| 40 | 55 | Reed Sorenson | Chevy | VYDOX Plus | 161.286 | 30.490 | –2.333 |