• Greg Biffle, whose only feasible path to the Chase requires a victory in one of the next two races, led Friday’s opening NASCAR Sprint Cup practice at Darlington with a lap at 176.201 mph. Biffle has won twice at the Lady in Black, his last victory coming in 2006. …
• Austin Dillon was the first driver to pick up a Darlington stripe early in the opening practice session. Though Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet suffered hard contact with the outside wall, his team opted to repair the car rather than go to a backup. …
• Kurt Busch, the only driver using the new high-tech digital dashboard in his car this weekend, was quick in both practices. He was second to Biffle in the opening session and second to Brad Keselowski in Happy Hour …
• Kyle Busch was eighth fastest in final practice before smacking the Turn 2 wall on his 33rd lap of the session. Busch’s team rolled out the backup No. 18 Toyota, which Busch will now drive in Sunday’s race. After his team prepped the backup car, Busch returned to the track, ran 21 laps and ended up 34th fastest in the session.
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
