Kevin Harvick was up and at 'em early Saturday morning, leading the day's early-morning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice at Michigan International Speedway. His speed of 194.784 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Chevrolet was enough to top the speed charts, including pole-starter Matt Kenseth.
Kenseth, the Coors Light Pole winner for Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), was the top Toyota on the board Saturday, coming in second at 194.411 mph in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20.
Kyle Larson (194.013 mph), Kyle Busch (193.976 mph) and Jimmie Johnson(193.934 mph) rounded out the top five at the 2-mile track.
In an effort to further test the high-drag rules package and simulate race conditions, teams communicated via radio about working together for a few laps of pack racing -- and at 9:10 a.m. ET, with 15 minutes remaining, a large contingent of cars left pit road together.
Kurt Busch, the series' most recent Michigan winner in June, was 14th-fastest. Jeff Gordon, the defending race winner prepping for what's expected to be his final Michigan start, was 17th-fastest.
Saturday's final practice is slated for 11:30 a.m. ET, with TV coverage on CNBC and live online streaming via Live Extra.
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