Keselowski leads Penske 1-2 in first Vegas practice – Nascar

RELATED: Full practice results

Brad Keselowski landed the fastest lap in opening NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Keselowski powered the Team Penske No. 2 Ford to a best speed of 195.327 mph on the 1.5-mile track. He was just nine thousandths of a second ahead of Penske teammate Joey Logano, who registered a 195.263 mph lap in the No. 22 Ford.

Hometown favorite Kurt Busch was third-fastest, pushing the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet to a 195.235 mph lap. Paul Menard was fourth-fastest and Brian Vickers — subbing for the injured Tony Stewart — fifth-fastest in preparation for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the third premier-series race of the season.

Defending race winner Kevin Harvick was seventh-fastest in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson, last week’s winner at Atlanta and a four-time victor in Vegas, posted the eighth-fastest lap in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.

Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin clocked the 13th-fastest lap in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota. He logged his speed in a reserve car after spinning and smacking the wall in his primary Toyota during Thursday’s test session.

The 85-minute session went caution-free, but had its share of close calls. Menard scraped the wall with his Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet on the exit of Turn 4. Kasey Kahne slid up out of the groove in Turns 1 and 2 with his Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevy, but avoided contact.