Matt Kenseth will start eighth in Sunday's race at Las Vegas. Credit: Autostock

Kenseth's bid for Vegas hat trick rolls on

No. 17 Ford posts fastest lap in Saturday's final practice

LAS VEGAS -- Some players could be bluffing, but during Happy Hour practice Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway it looked as if Matt Kenseth may be holding three of a kind.

	Happy Hour Speeds UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Pos. Driver Speed (mph) 1. M. Kenseth 168.755 2. J. Johnson 167.905 3. M. Martin 167.801 4. K. Kahne 167.629 5. E. Sadler 167.530 * -- Complete speeds, click here * -- 2nd practice speeds, click here

Kenseth, winner of the past two Nextel Cup events at Vegas, paced the weekend's final practice, proving he is a threat to become the first Cup Series driver to win three consecutive events at the same venue since teammate Kurt Busch did it at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2002 and 2003.

Kenseth's quick lap clocked in at 31.999 seconds and registered nearly two-tenths of a second faster than the second-fastest driver, Jimmie Johnson. Mark Martin was third, followed by 2004 Vegas pole-sitter Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.

Sadler laid down the day's fastest lap during the morning session at 31.824 seconds. Johnson was second in the morning practice, as well, with Kahne third, Fontana winner Greg Biffle fourth and Ryan Newman fifth. Newman starts on the Bud Pole on Sunday for the 28th time in his career.

Nextel Cup Series points leader Busch was sixth in Happy Hour, while Joe Nemechek, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Dave Blaney filled out the remainder of the top 10.

There were no accidents in either session.

After introducing its new impounding procedure two weeks ago at California Speedway, NASCAR introduced its new impounding rule last week at Fontana to mixed reviews. This week, the standard schedule is back, with qualifying Friday, two practices Saturday morning and the ability to work on the cars Sunday morning prior to the race.

Some drivers like the new impound rule better.

"When we practice on Saturday, we're practicing in the morning and we're finished with practice before noon, so really it's not a good indication of what the track is gonna be like," said Dale Jarrett, whose UPS Ford was 19th in Happy Hour.

Elliott Sadler likes that the Nextel Cup Series practice schedule changes each week. Credit: Autostock

"I'd prefer to have that afternoon practice and then let's go qualify them, sit them in the garage and get ready to race."

Jarrett's teammate, meanwhile, enjoys the challenge of rotating schedules.

"I like it because it throws us a curveball every week," Sadler said. "I'm glad we don't do the same monotonous stuff every weekend. One weekend the driver has to be in one mindset to try to get it ready for race practice and just tape it up.

"This week, we had to really get it ready for qualifying Friday and then go for race practice Saturday, so it throws a curveball to us every single week. I like it.

"It's more nerve-wracking and stressful on the crew chiefs probably, but it's what this sport is all about -- the best will prevail. So I kind of like the schedule changes."