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Chris Buescher is surprise leader of Friday's first Cup practice

Chris Buescher topped Friday’s first NASCAR Cup Series practice, the only non-playoff driver in the top-10.

 Chris Buescher, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Fast Lane to Flavor

Chris Buescher, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Fast Lane to Flavor

John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

Buescher set his average lap speed of 121.147 mph early in the 50-minute session at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and it stood the entire time.

In seven career Cup starts at Richmond, Buescher’s best finish 17th in 2017.

Joey Logano ended up second (120.962 mph) and William Byron was third (120.827 mph). Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson completed the top-five.

Rounding out the top-10 were Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Ryan Newman.

Martin Truex Jr., who won this race in the spring and last weekend’s playoff opener at Las Vegas, ended up 13th.

Larson was fastest among those drivers who ran at least 10 consecutive laps. Jones and Clint Bowyer were second and third, respectively, in that category.

Cla # Driver Manufacturer Laps Time Gap Interval Mph
1 37 United States Chris Buescher  Chevrolet 42 22.287     121.147
2 22 United States Joey Logano  Ford 41 22.321 0.034 0.034 120.962
3 24 United States William Byron  Chevrolet 46 22.346 0.059 0.025 120.827
4 18 United States Kyle Busch  Toyota 43 22.372 0.085 0.026 120.687
5 42 United States Kyle Larson  Chevrolet 33 22.409 0.122 0.037 120.487
6 11 United States Denny Hamlin  Toyota 49 22.477 0.190 0.068 120.123
7 20 United States Erik Jones  Toyota 49 22.479 0.192 0.002 120.112
8 12 United States Ryan Blaney  Ford 48 22.481 0.194 0.002 120.101
9 9 United States Chase Elliott  Chevrolet 61 22.510 0.223 0.029 119.947
10 6 United States Ryan Newman  Ford 41 22.516 0.229 0.006 119.915
11 21 United States Paul Menard  Ford 39 22.519 0.232 0.003 119.899
12 41 Mexico Daniel Suarez  Ford 57 22.550 0.263 0.031 119.734
13 19 United States Martin Truex Jr.  Toyota 50 22.552 0.265 0.002 119.723
14 17 United States Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  Ford 54 22.556 0.269 0.004 119.702
15 8 United States Daniel Hemric  Chevrolet 45 22.558 0.271 0.002 119.691
16 48 United States Jimmie Johnson  Chevrolet 34 22.578 0.291 0.020 119.585
17 4 United States Kevin Harvick  Ford 60 22.593 0.306 0.015 119.506
18 10 United States Aric Almirola  Ford 57 22.599 0.312 0.006 119.474
19 47 United States Ryan Preece  Chevrolet 39 22.605 0.318 0.006 119.443
20 14 United States Clint Bowyer  Ford 45 22.607 0.320 0.002 119.432
21 1 United States Kurt Busch  Chevrolet 36 22.607 0.320 0.0 119.432
22 88 United States Alex Bowman  Chevrolet 47 22.633 0.346 0.026 119.295
23 2 United States Brad Keselowski  Ford 50 22.640 0.353 0.007 119.258
24 3 United States Austin Dillon  Chevrolet 66 22.651 0.364 0.011 119.200
25 13 United States Ty Dillon  Chevrolet 39 22.652 0.365 0.001 119.195
26 95 United States Matt DiBenedetto  Toyota 50 22.657 0.370 0.005 119.168
27 43 United States Darrell Wallace Jr.  Chevrolet 39 22.809 0.522 0.152 118.374
28 32 United States Corey Lajoie  Ford 40 22.827 0.540 0.018 118.281
29 34 United States Michael McDowell  Ford 45 22.875 0.588 0.048 118.033
30 38 United States David Ragan  Ford 37 22.891 0.604 0.016 117.950
31 36 United States Matt Tifft  Ford 27 22.963 0.676 0.072 117.580
32 15 United States Ross Chastain  Chevrolet 35 23.050 0.763 0.087 117.137
33 00 United States Landon Cassill  Chevrolet 25 23.156 0.869 0.106 116.600
34 77 United States Reed Sorenson  Chevrolet 15 23.442 1.155 0.286 115.178
35 52 United States J.J. Yeley  Ford 21 23.502 1.215 0.060 114.884
36 27 United States Quin Houff  Chevrolet 20 23.536 1.249 0.034 114.718
37 53 United States Spencer Boyd  Chevrolet 14 23.724 1.437 0.188 113.809
38 51 United States Austin Theriault  Chevrolet 6 24.172 1.885 0.448 111.699

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