NASCAR Cup Series

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael Waltrip lead opening Talladega Sprint Cup practice

Published May. 1, 2015 3:20 p.m. ET

foxsports

After failing to qualify for the October 2014 race at Talladega Superspeedway, Roush Fenway Racing's Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led Friday's opening Sprint Cup Series practice at the 2.66-mile track.

The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford ran a total of 32 laps, posting his fastest on Lap 23 with 47.694 seconds at 200.780 miles per hour.

Due to group knockout qualifying, Stenhouse Jr. failed to qualify for October's GEICO 500. Afterward, his girlfriend and fellow Sprint Cup driver Danica Patrick offered harsh criticism of the qualifying format.

NASCAR has changed that format once again, with cars making single-lap runs at timed intervals on the track.

That was a welcomed sight for Patrick and Stenhouse.

"Ricky and I looked at each other this morning and we go, 'I'm so glad the qualifying has changed.' It just was, I feel, like a very unnecessary stress for everybody," Patrick said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Veteran Michael Waltrip put the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota second on the speed charts in a rare Sprint Cup appearance. The team co-owner ran a total of 13 laps, with his best of 47.703 seconds at 200.742 mph. Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and David Ragan rounded out the top five.

Ragan also had the best 10-consecutive-lap average during the opening practice session, followed by Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

Take a look at the full practice results: