Edwards tops opening Sprint Cup practice at Bristol

Carl Edwards, a two-time winner at Bristol Motor Speedway, led Friday’s first Sprint Cup practice session at Bristol, posting a lap of 121.528 mph.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver, currently fourth in the points standings, was followed by Mark Martin (Hendrick Motorsports) at 121.412 mph.

Matt Kenseth (Roush), Brad Keselowski (Penske Racing) and Kasey Kahne (Red Bull Racing) completed the top five.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Regan Smith, Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon were sixth through 10th.

Series points leader Kyle Busch, winner of the last two Cup races at Bristol, was 20th in the session.

A final practice is scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. ET, with qualifying for Saturday night’s Irwin Tools Night Race slated for 5:10 p.m.