Carl Edwards was the fastest driver in the opening practice session Friday at Atlanta.
The driver of the No. 99 Ford Fusion ran his fastest lap of the session early in the practice session, his first lap around the 1.54-mile track. Tony Stewart who was making his return to the track after three weeks away was the 10th fastest.
Qualifying for the Oral-B USA 500 will take place Friday evening.
NASCAR Cup Series Opening Practice Speeds from Atlanta
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| RANK | CAR | DRIVER | TIME | SPEED | LAP |
| 1 | 99 | Carl Edwards | 28.747 | 192.855 | 1 |
| 2 | 31 | Ryan Newman | 28.931 | 191.628 | 1 |
| 3 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | 28.963 | 191.417 | 1 |
| 4 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 28.996 | 191.199 | 2 |
| 5 | 42 | Kyle Larson # | 29.009 | 191.113 | 1 |
| 6 | 55 | Brian Vickers | 29.074 | 190.686 | 1 |
| 7 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr. | 29.171 | 190.052 | 1 |
| 8 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 29.213 | 189.779 | 1 |
| 9 | 41 | Kurt Busch | 29.229 | 189.675 | 2 |
| 10 | 14 | Tony Stewart | 29.234 | 189.642 | 25 |
| 11 | 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 29.248 | 189.551 | 1 |
| 12 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | 29.266 | 189.435 | 2 |
| 13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 29.286 | 189.305 | 1 |
| 14 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | 29.327 | 189.041 | 1 |
| 15 | 3 | Austin Dillon # | 29.416 | 188.469 | 6 |
| 16 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | 29.428 | 188.392 | 25 |
| 17 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 29.437 | 188.334 | 20 |
| 18 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | 29.517 | 187.824 | 20 |
| 19 | 27 | Paul Menard | 29.531 | 187.735 | 1 |
| 20 | 23 | Alex Bowman # | 29.531 | 187.735 | 24 |
| 21 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 29.545 | 187.646 | 24 |
| 22 | 10 | Danica Patrick | 29.561 | 187.544 | 1 |
| 23 | 51 | Justin Allgaier # | 29.602 | 187.285 | 1 |
| 24 | 43 | Aric Almirola | 29.62 | 187.171 | 17 |
| 25 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | 29.621 | 187.165 | 22 |
| 26 | 22 | Joey Logano | 29.64 | 187.045 | 20 |
| 27 | 33 | Ty Dillon(i) | 29.655 | 186.95 | 1 |
| 28 | 13 | Casey Mears | 29.713 | 186.585 | 18 |
| 29 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | 29.726 | 186.503 | 17 |
| 30 | 34 | David Ragan | 29.747 | 186.372 | 1 |
| 31 | 18 | Kyle Busch | 29.759 | 186.297 | 24 |
| 32 | 38 | David Gilliland | 29.873 | 185.586 | 19 |
| 33 | 37 | Mike Bliss(i) | 29.906 | 185.381 | 5 |
| 34 | 95 | Michael McDowell | 29.934 | 185.207 | 1 |
| 35 | 7 | Michael Annett # | 29.956 | 185.071 | 1 |
| 36 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | 29.97 | 184.985 | 1 |
| 37 | 98 | Josh Wise | 30.073 | 184.351 | 7 |
| 38 | 77 | Joe Nemechek(i) | 30.113 | 184.107 | 9 |
| 39 | 66 | Brett Moffitt | 30.134 | 183.978 | 1 |
| 40 | 83 | Ryan Truex # | 30.141 | 183.936 | 9 |
| 41 | 26 | Cole Whitt # | 30.262 | 183.2 | 16 |
| 42 | 40 | Landon Cassill(i) | 30.285 | 183.061 | 12 |
| 43 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | 30.608 | 181.129 | 1 |
| 44 | 32 | JJ Yeley(i) | 30.847 | 179.726 | 1 |
