Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to be a hit rather than a miss at Dover. Credit: Autostock

Junior has fastest time in Happy Hour at Dover

Riggs has pair of top-five practice runs after engine change

DOVER, Del. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman were the big hitters Saturday at Dover International Speedway, as they paced the Nextel Cup Series' two practice sessions in preparation for Sunday's Dover 400.

Scott Riggs, however, might have been the happiest man in the speedplant Saturday, as his Dodge was in the top five in both sessions, after crew chief Rodney Childers supervised an engine change after qualifying.

Scott Riggs Credit: Autostock

Dover 400 Practices Saturday morning Speeds Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. R. Newman 152.188 23.655 2. K. Kahne 151.899 23.700 3. T. Stewart 151.835 23.710 4. S. Riggs 151.790 23.717 5. C. Bowyer 151.528 23.758 6. M. Kenseth 151.426 23.774 7. Ku. Busch 150.943 23.850 8. G. Biffle 150.867 23.862 9. B. Vickers 150.861 23.863 10. Ky. Busch 150.779 23.876 • Complete speeds, click here Happy Hour Speeds Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. Dale Jr. 151.273 23.798 2. S. Riggs 150.558 23.911 3. C. Edwards 150.257 23.959 4. R. Sorenson 150.225 23.964 5. K. Kahne 150.175 23.972 6. C. Bowyer 150.150 23.976 7. M. Martin 150.025 23.996 8. K. Harvick 149.975 24.004 9. Ku. Busch 149.962 24.006 10. J. Johnson 149.888 24.018 • Complete speeds, click here Dover qualsDale Jr. qualifies in 13th position at Dover, Harvick in 25th Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836 LINEUP •   Dover 400

Riggs qualified second on Friday, but missed a shift and "buzzed" his car's engine in the process. When he felt it weaken on his second lap in qualifying, the decision to change was easy.

Riggs ended up fourth in the opening practice and was second to Earnhardt in Happy Hour.

"The engines ended up being just about the same," Childers said as he left the track Saturday. "But we got the car working probably better than it was [Friday].

"Yeah, we're a little worried about having to come from the back. It will come down to dodging all the trouble that might occur and timing our stops and the cautions as best as we can -- but we're hoping to get a good finish out of it."

Newman, who qualified fourth-best Friday for the second event of the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup, was quickest in the one-hour first practice Saturday morning, with a lap in 23.655 seconds, an average speed of 152.188 mph that was the fastest in the two sessions.

Kasey Kahne's Dodge, 2005 Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart's Chevrolet, Riggs and rookie Clint Bowyer's Chevy rounded out the top five in the first session.

Earnhardt, who was disappointed with the way he ended last weekend's opening Chase race at New Hampshire and qualified 13th on Friday, was 13th in the opening session but moved to the top of the chart in the 45-minute Happy Hour at 23.798 seconds, 151.273 mph in his Chevy.

Riggs, Carl Edwards' Ford, rookie Reed Sorenson's Dodge and Kahne rounded out the top five in Happy Hour, which was stopped once by a brief sprinkle of rain.

"It's sort of hit-and-miss here [but] you come here and you work real hard," Earnhardt said. "It's a fun track if you can adjust the car. You go out and your car seems to be different every time.

"At a lot of tracks you make adjustments and you don't see any change in how the car drives but it's a fun track. I've had some good times here, some good runs here, some great cars here but it's sort of hit-and-miss.

"I think we've hit on it this weekend."

Earnhardt comes into the race at a track where he's had six top-10 finishes in 13 career starts, including a victory in this event in 2001. He's seventh in the standings, 81 points behind leader Kevin Harvick, who was 14th in the opening practice and eighth in Happy Hour in his Chevy.

Defending event winner Jimmie Johnson, who fell to ninth in the standings last weekend, was 10th in Happy Hour.

Travis Kvapil's PPI Motorsports team executed an engine change after Happy Hour and will have to drop to the rear of the field from his 30th qualifying position on the pace laps Sunday.