Kahne fastest in first Bristol practice session

Kasey Kahne laid down the fastest lap during Friday's first practice session ta Bristol Motor Speedway in preparation for Sunday's Food City 500. Kahne's fast lap at 128.168 mph came in the later stages of the 85 minute session when everyone was running in qualifying trim. Kahne is listed at 20-to-1 odds in Las Vegas and won this race in 2013.

Second quickest with a lap at 128.159 mph was Kahne’s fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who last won at Bristol in 2004. He was followed by Brad Keselowski (127.971), Carl Edwards (127.554) and David Ragan (127.546).

Keselowski, a two-time winner at Bristol, had the fastest 10-consecutive lap average among the 17 drivers that ran as many consecutively. Edwards speed is a good sign for the Joe Gibbs Racing team that started the season a little sluggish but have been vastly improving the past three races. Edwards has won three times at Bristol, including this race last season.

Rounding out the top-10 quickest drivers in the session were Justin Allgaier, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray and Austin Dillon.

Saturday's final two practices should be interesting to watch as the race looks as about as wide open as any we've seen since the season opening Daytona 500.

Practice 1 Speeds

Practice 2 Speeds - Kahne fastest

Practice 3 Speeds - Kurt Busch fastest