Busch brushes wall in final practice at Charlotte

Sadler fastest, McMurray to backup car after early wreck

CONCORD, N.C. -- Nextel Cup Series points leader Kurt Busch glanced the wall during Happy Hour practice Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but fortunately for him, his No. 97 Ford received little damage.

Kurt Busch Credit: Autostock

"I was just running laps -- one reason was to get in traffic and see what the car would do," Busch said. "Second, it was my little brother (Kyle) and I wanted to see why he was struggling. Thirdly, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.

"So they'll have to work a little bit into the night to polish it up. It'll look a little rough, the pretty's knocked off of it, but it'll still go fast."

Despite minimal damage to the right front and right rear, Busch returned to the track and was able to run with the leaders. The worst damage, he said, was the caved in right side.

That certainly doesn't assist his bid to earn a first career Lowe's Motor Speedway top-10.

"We were loose all through that run, and that lap it just pushed so bad off of Turn 4, I just ran out of racetrack," said Busch, who qualified 21st for the UAW-GM Quality 500.

All said, Busch finished 11th in a Happy Hour practice session paced by Elliott Sadler. Sadler's 29.662-second lap bested Rusty Wallace by six hundredths of a second.

ALSO •   Happy Hour Speeds •   2nd Practice Speeds

Jimmie Johnson, who led 501 miles here in the Coca-Cola 600, was third overall. Last week's winner, Joe Nemechek was fourth, followed by Tony Stewart in fifth. Mark Martin was 14th overall in Happy Hour after posting the fastest time in Friday's first practice, but he feels confident he has a stout ride.

"This is one of those tracks that can't trick me," Martin said. "The Viagra team has her wired in perfect."

But can he win?

"Without question," he said, flashing the A-OK sign with both hands.

Bud Pole winner Ryan Newman had a carburetor problem during the session, but got it remedied and finished Happy Hour in 24th position. Jeff Gordon fought a loose condition throughout the day and finished 30th.

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Kasey Kahne looks strong as well, posting the second-fastest time in the first session before he dropped off to 15th in Happy Hour.

Jamie McMurray was sent to a backup car after he wrecked in Friday's first practice. McMurray said the crash was the result of having driven through oil dropped from the No. 99 Ford.

McMurray was fifth-fastest when he wrecked, and the setup from his primary car didn't work well in the backup car. He was 35th in Happy Hour, and will start at the rear of the field Saturday night.