Bowyer leads strong Ford showing in final practice at Talladega

Four Ford teammates led final NASCAR Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

Clint Bowyer (P) was fastest at 202.042 mph. Defending race winner Aric Almirola was second quick at 200.834 mph, with Paul Menard ending up third at 200.813 mph. Fourth quick was Kevin Harvick (P) at 200.611 mph. Rounding out the top five was Ryan Preece at 200.498 mph.

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The rest of the top 10 were Alex Bowman (P) at 200.012 mph, Brad Keselowski (P) at 199.447 mph, Ryan Blaney (P) at 199.371 mph, Ryan Newman at 199.325 mph, and Matt DiBenedetto at 199.242 mph.

Seven playoff drivers were outside the top 10.

Joey Logano was 11th at 199.221 mph with William Byron 13th at 198.701 mph. Chase Elliott, who won at Talladega in the spring, was 17th at 193.450 mph. Denny Hamlin was 21st at 190.943 mph and Kyle Larson was 22nd at 190.612 mph.

Further back was Kyle Busch at 27th fastest at 189.732 mph and Martin Truex Jr. at 30th at 189.421 mph.

Only 33 of the 40 drivers entered in the race participated in final practice. There were no incidents.

UP NEXT: Qualifying at 4:35 p.m. ET Saturday.