Newman leads first Cup practice at Pocono

Ryan Newman led the first of two 90-minute Sprint Cup practice sessions Friday at Pocono Raceway in preparation for Sunday’s Good Sam RV Insurance 500.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver led the way with a speed of 170.026 mph around the 2.5-mile track. Kurt Busch (Penske Racing), AJ Allmendinger (Richard Petty Motorsports), points leader Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing) and Mark Martin (Hendrick Motorsports) rounded out the top five.

Defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick) was sixth and Brad Keselowski (Penske), who chipped a bone in his left ankle in a crash while testing Wednesday at Road Atlanta, was 10th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Hendrick) was 17th, and defending race winner Greg Biffle (Roush) was 20th.

Qualifying is set for 10:40 a.m. Saturday.