M’Ville: Four-time champ Jeff Gordon leads opening session
Gordon, the defending race-winner, will look to pick up his second victory of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and advance from the Eliminator Round to Homestead-Miami Speedway's Championship Round race on Nov. 16.
The four-time 2014 winner led the way with a best speed of 99.250 mph, achieved on the 32nd of 36 total laps around the 0.526-mile circuit. Gordon was trailed by a pair of Chase drivers in Joey Logano (99.198) and Denny Hamlin (99.141). Jamie McMurray was fourth at 99.115, while last week's winner at Talladega, Brad Keselowski, rounded out the top five with a speed of 99.069.
Kurt Busch, who won the race earlier this season at Martinsville and will soon be swapping crew chiefs with teammate Danica Patrick, was 22nd at 98.170. Patrick, meanwhile, was 16th with a speed of 98.328.
In the opening minutes of the practice, Justin Allgaier spun his No. 51 Chevrolet for the session's only caution period. Jamie McMurray also brushed the wall lightly, but incurred minimal damage and no caution was thrown.
Qualifying for Sunday's Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) is at 4:40 p.m. ET (FS1) on Friday, while a pair of practices will run Saturday at 9 a.m. and noon ET (both on FS1).