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[/media-credit]Following his dominating win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson is looking to continue the success to Pocono Raceway as he led the opening practice for the Sprint Cup Series.
Johnson would lap the tricky triangle with a lap of 51.638 seconds. The five-time Sprint Cup Champion is looking for his third win in the triangle after scoring two wins, nine top fives and 15 top 10s in 21 starts.
This year, statistically, has already proven to be better than last year as he has 10 top fives in 20 races, while only scoring 14 top fives last year in 36 races.
Kyle Busch was second in practice with a lap of 51.726 seconds, 0.088 seconds off of Johnson. Busch is looking for his first Pocono victory this weekend after scoring only four top fives and five top 10s in 15 starts.
Carl Edwards was third, followed by Roush-Fenway teammates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle.
Kasey Kahne was sixth with Joey Logano seventh. If Logano is able to score the pole this weekend, it will mark his third pole in a row at the tricky triangle. Logano is also going for the Pocono sweep after winning the race at Pocono earlier this year.
Points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. was eighth, followed by Mark Martin and Casey Mears.
Paul Menard was forced to his back-up car after catching fire during practice. He timed in 28th.
PRACTICE SPEEDS
Pennsylvania 400 | Pocono Raceway
| FIN | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | SPEED | TIME | BEHIND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s | 174.290 | 51.638 | Leader |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 173.994 | 51.726 | -0.088 |
| 3 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 173.967 | 51.734 | -0.096 |
| 4 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Zest | 173.950 | 51.739 | -0.101 |
| 5 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 173.772 | 51.792 | -0.154 |
| 6 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 173.755 | 51.797 | -0.159 |
| 7 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 173.621 | 51.837 | -0.199 |
| 8 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Diet Mountain Dew / AMP Energy / National Guard | 173.615 | 51.839 | -0.201 |
| 9 | 55 | Mark Martin | Toyota | Aaron’s Dream Machine | 173.548 | 51.859 | -0.221 |
| 10 | 13 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 173.444 | 51.890 | -0.252 |
| 11 | 26 | Josh Wise* | Ford | MDS Transport | 173.214 | 51.959 | -0.321 |
| 12 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 173.130 | 51.984 | -0.346 |
| 13 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Automotive Lift Institute | 172.994 | 52.025 | -0.387 |
| 14 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 172.951 | 52.038 | -0.400 |
| 15 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 172.934 | 52.043 | -0.405 |
| 16 | 119 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | Plinker Tactical | 172.881 | 52.059 | -0.421 |
| 17 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | Haas Automation / Quicken Loans | 172.874 | 52.061 | -0.423 |
| 18 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 172.798 | 52.084 | -0.446 |
| 19 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot “Back to School” | 172.748 | 52.099 | -0.461 |
| 20 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 172.612 | 52.140 | -0.502 |
| 21 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 172.596 | 52.145 | -0.507 |
| 22 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Allstate | 172.510 | 52.171 | -0.533 |
| 23 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 172.384 | 52.209 | -0.571 |
| 24 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Enersys / Odyssey Battery | 172.305 | 52.233 | -0.595 |
| 25 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | ModSpace | 172.097 | 52.296 | -0.658 |
| 26 | 22 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 171.910 | 52.353 | -0.715 |
| 27 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Ground | 171.828 | 52.378 | -0.740 |
| 28 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Menards / Serta | 171.828 | 52.378 | -0.740 |
| 29 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 171.713 | 52.413 | -0.775 |
| 30 | 30 | David Stremme | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 171.703 | 52.416 | -0.778 |
| 31 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | Taco Bell | 171.533 | 52.468 | -0.830 |
| 32 | 98 | Mike Skinner | Ford | TRAQM.com | 171.438 | 52.497 | -0.859 |
| 33 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | AM / FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves | 171.311 | 52.536 | -0.898 |
| 34 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Scott Products | 171.226 | 52.562 | -0.924 |
| 35 | 191 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | Plinker Tactical | 171.116 | 52.596 | -0.958 |
| 36 | 37 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Max Q Motorsports | 170.976 | 52.639 | -1.001 |
| 37 | 93 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 170.973 | 52.640 | -1.002 |
| 38 | 83 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 170.882 | 52.668 | -1.030 |
| 39 | 10 | David Reutimann | Chevrolet | TMone.com | 170.765 | 52.704 | -1.066 |
| 40 | 23 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | North Texas Pipe | 170.432 | 52.807 | -1.169 |
| 41 | 51 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 169.965 | 52.952 | -1.314 |
| 42 | 33 | Stephen Leicht* | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com |
169.367 | 53.139 | -1.501 |
| 43 | 36 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | @TMone / CRM Hiring Veterans | 169.278 | 53.167 | -1.529 |
| 44 | 32 | John Wes Townley | Ford | Zaxby’s | – | – | – |
