He waited until his final lap to worry the competition, but Jimmie Johnson was able to put the No. 48 atop the leader board before the end of Friday's opening session. The winner of this race the last two years, Johnson is looking to put some distance between himself and Carl Edwards before heading into Homestead. Running seventeen laps in the session, Johnson ran a fast time of 27.09 seconds at a speed of 132.871 mph.

Fellow Hendrick Motorsports drivers Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr. backed up Johnson's time taking the second and third spots. With only two races before he moves on to Richard Childress Racing, Mears ran a fast lap of 27.10 seconds at 132.861 mph. The driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet ran the same lap time as Mears, but at a speed of 132.846 mph.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch ran the fourth fastest lap of the session with a lap of 27.11 seconds at 132.787 mph. One of the hottest drivers as of late, Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-5 in Friday's session with a mark of 27.16 seconds at 132.533 mph.

Carl Edwards - second in points - ran the tenth fastest time of the session, while Greg Biffle was mired back in 28th.

Qualifying for Sunday's Checkered Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm E.T. on ESPN2.