Juan Pablo Montoya was the fastest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who will attempt to race their way into Saturday night’s All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Montoya’s 29.267 second lap bested Jeff Burton’s 29.283 second circuit.

Martin Truex Jr., A.J. Allmendinger and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-5 in the single practice session. Other drivers who will attempt to make the All-Star race field through the Showdown include Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and series veteran Bill Elliott.

In the solitary practice for the All-Star race field, Jimmie Johnson was the fastest at the track formerly sponsored by his primary sponsor Lowe’s. His 29.235 second lap kept the top spot from Kyle Busch who ran a fast time of 29.431 seconds.

Ryan Newman ended up 3rd in the practice followed by Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin in 4th and 5th, respectively.

The 4th Hendrick driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., ended up 9th in the session. Casey Mears who is driving the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota in place of Brian Vickers wound up 13th while last year’s All-Star race winner Tony Stewart was 16th out of the 18 drivers.

The Showdown drivers began their qualifying runs at 5pm ET today but a rain delay brought out the red flag with only four more drivers left to run. All-Star qualifying will follow once the weather clears and the track is dried.

SHOWDOWN PRACTICE RESULTS

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