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CUP: Edwards Paces Happy Hour
Written by: Tom Jensen   
08/16/2008
Brooklyn, Mich.
 
Carl Edwards drives during practice for the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

Michigan International Speedway has always been a great track for Roush Fenway Racing, and Carl Edwards showed he will be one of the favorites for Sunday’s 3M Performance 400, pacing the final “Happy Hour” practice session at the 2-mile track.

Edwards had a best lap of 182.537 miles per hour at MIS in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion, good enough to top the speed charts during the 60-minute fine-tuning round. On Sunday, Edwards will attempt to add to the team’s total of 10 race victories at MIS.

“Coming to Michigan is a lot of fun just because we run so well here,” said Edwards, who enters the race second in points behind Kyle Busch. “I think it takes every aspect of your team to run well here, the engines, your strategy, the body, the setup, everything has to be good and I think it shows the strength of our team.”

Second in Happy Hour was the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Kevin Hamlin, who turned a best lap of 181.873 mph. Harvick, who comes into Sunday’s race 11th in points, insisted he isn’t fretting over whether or not he qualifies for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“It is what it is and you just go out and race as hard as you can,” said Harvick. “It wouldn’t be anything we do any differently if we were first and if we were 20th, so we go out and where it falls is where it falls, and not a lot we can do in between.”

Harvick was trailed in Happy Hour by the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin, who was fastest in the day’s first
practice session. This round, the Virginia native hit 181.630 mph.

Completing the top five were former Roush Fenway Racing teammates Martin and Jeff Burton. Martin’s put his Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy into fourth at 180.895 mph, just edging the 180.850 mph lap Burton had in his RCR entry.

The second five consisted of Travis Kvapil, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Elliott Sadler and 3M Performance 400 pole-sitter Brian Vickers.

Sunday’s race will be the 23rd of 26 events in NASCAR’s regular season, with the season-ending, 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup starting next month in New Hampshire.

3M PERFORMANCE 400 PRACTICE1 RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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