Dale Earnhardt Jr. fastest during first Coca-Cola 600 practice session

Sweet No. 88 colors this week: Junior has never won at Charlotte?

There were 45 teams participating Thursday's first Coca-Cola 600 practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Dale Earnhardt Jr. laying down the fastest lap at 193.264 mph putting him in great position to grab the pole during Thursday night's qualifying. Surprisingly, Junior has never won at his home track in Charlotte.

Most of the laps run during the 80-minute session were in qualifying trim. No driver ran 10-consecutive laps or more and Justin Allgaier ran the most (27) while the majority ran 10 laps or less. 

Saturday's final two practice sessions will be the most pivotal to the handicapping equation, but don't expect teams to put too many laps on their engines since Sunday's night race is their longest of the season -- 600 miles.

Kevin Harvick was second fastest during the session with a lap at 192.164 mph on his seventh and final lap run. He was followed by Jimmie Johnson (192.014), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (191.782) and Martin Truex, Jr. (191.775).

Practice 1 Speeds

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