Saturday Martinsville Notebook

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Twelfth-place qualifier Ward Burton was forced to a backup car for Sunday's race and wrecking in the morning session.

	Ward Burton Credit: Autostock

Hence, he'll move to the rear of the field at the outset of Sunday's event.

"It's a shame because the 22 had a good qualifying run and a good car," said Davis said. "It's nobody's fault. These guys will just have to dig hard all day and get track position.

"We stayed out a bunch last year. Usually you're in more trouble on pit road here than you are on the racetrack. We made it work last year, so maybe we can do it again."

Jeff Burton, who paced morning practice at 92.047 mph, was third in Happy Hour, followed by Terry Labonte and Sterling Marlin in the top-five.

Gordon, who earned his third career Martinsville pole Friday by rounding the .526-mile Martinsville bullring in 20.079 seconds, was fifth in the morning session and nearly paced Happy Hour.

Ephedra won't be banned by NASCAR

NASCAR said Saturday that, as a result of the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Rand Corporation study and other reported health concerns, that they "advise all NASCAR participants to seek guidance from their individual physician prior to taking any supplement labeled as containing ephedra/ephedrine, including Ma Huang, Chinese Ephedra and Sida Cordifolia."

The sanctioning body will continue to monitor reports regarding health concerns for ephedra and will advise NASCAR participants as additional information becomes available.

Lack of cars could hamper Andretti's Indy dream

Changes in IRL IndyCar Series rules could help keep John Andretti out of the Indianapolis 500 this season.

	John Andretti Credit: Autostock

The open-wheel series has three new engine manufacturers, and the chassis from Panoz G Force and Dallara are new.

Teams have battled to replaced the older models with newer ones, so there aren't as many pieces for drivers like Andretti.

"I'd still like to run it," Andretti said. "I think right now the IRL basically is in a state of transition in some respect in that they've got new engine programs, they've got new chassis and obviously a lot of new teams, too.

"The biggest issue is, is there going to be enough equipment and other things to go through? A lot of teams have taken on additional cars for the race, but they also have test drivers sitting in and other circumstances exist, so you can't get in those.

"Looking at it, it doesn't look strong, but the possibility is still there. We're still working on it. ... Who knows where it's going to go, but right now, it's not in the best position it's been in. I would love to be there because it's (cousin) Michael (Andretti's) last race. I spoke to him, and he swears it's his last race. I guess we'll see."

Does Busch have secret to Martinsville?

Kurt Busch won at Martinsville last fall after rallying from 36th place because of a spin. That's an amazing accomplishment, considering how difficult it is to pass here and how many cars fill up the track.

What's the secret?

	Kurt Busch Credit: Autostock

"I don't want to let too much of it out," Busch said with a laugh. "It's something where a lot of things have to fall into place, and you have to be lucky in certain situations with yellows and when you pit. Last year we gained a ton of track position.

"We pitted under a caution because the car wasn't handling that well and we changed the car around and did a lot of good things to it. About 30 laps later there was another caution and the whole field pitted.

"We only had 30 laps on our tires so we stayed out. The next run was 120 laps, so we maintained our track position and we stayed up front for the rest of the day."

Busch will have to come from the back again Sunday, as he starts 36th in Sunday's race.

"It takes that one little break, but that's the easy way to get in," Busch said. "Otherwise, you've got to pass cars and make sure your car is adjustable and you don't put yourself in a box to where you have to run the low line or you have to run the high line.

"You've got to make it adjustable to run both lanes because when they groomed this race track last fall, I think that's where we benefited the most."