NSCS: Kevin Harvick leads Quickens Loans Race for Heroes 500 practice at Phoenix

On Friday afternoon at Phoenix International Speedway, Kevin Harvick would lead the first and only Sprint Cup Series practice on Friday. Harvick topped the chart with a lap of 25.438 seconds behind the wheel of his No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet.

Harvick, a previous winner at Phoenix, is looking to be one of the four drivers that moves on to the final round of the Chase for the Championship next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Following his second place finish last weekend, Harvick sits eighth in points, 18 points out of the lead, six points out of the Chase.

Rookie Kyle Larson was second quickest, 0.009 seconds behind Harvick, as he continues to search for his first career Sprint Cup victory. Larson has been trying to play spoiler throughout the Chase, posting good finishes on a weekly basis. Chaser Brad Keselowski was third quickest, followed by Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Hoping to end his year on a positive note, Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Chaser Denny Hamlin, Chaser Joey Logano and Tony Stewart. Stewart is coming off back-to-back strong weeks where he has ran near the front of the field.

The rest of the Chasers were as follows:

• Jeff Gordon – 12th
• Matt Kenseth – 13th
• Carl Edwards – 25th
• Ryan Newman – 27th