DEI's Earnhardt, Truex lead Saturday practices

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. swapped off leading Saturday's practice sessions at Martinsville Speedway for Sunday's Goody's Cool Orange 500.

Earnhardt, despite complaining of a vibration in his brake pedal, had the fastest lap in Happy Hour, 20.235 seconds -- an average speed of 93.580 mph. He also had the fastest average of the 43 cars that practiced, 20.459 seconds over 56 laps in his No. 8 Chevrolet.

Truex's No. 1 Chevrolet posted the fastest lap of the day in the opening practice, 20.155 seconds at 93.952 mph. In the afternoon session, he was third behind Bud Pole winner Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Chevy.

Hamlin and Kevin Harvick joined Truex in consistently excelling in practice. Hamlin was fourth in the first session, while Harvick, who has two seventh-place finishes at Martinsville, was third in Friday's opening practice and fifth in Happy Hour.

Kyle Busch was second-fastest in the opening practice, while Jeremy Mayfield, who has made two consecutive races after four DNQs, broke up Chevrolet's dominance by rebounding into fourth in Happy Hour.

"We were really bad in the first practice this morning, and we started out bad in final practice," Mayfield said. "We changed some stuff in the middle of the session and got a lot better there at the end.

"We're really happy about the progress we made and hopefully that's a good sign for [Sunday]. If I can get a good run for our team we'll be able to get some points. We need points bad right now."

But Truex appears to be in a dominant position after he led Friday's opening practice before slipping to 15th in qualifying.

Martinsville is a legendary facility for the Northeast's Modified racing community. After his performance Saturday, Truex, who at the beginning of his career raced Modifieds, hopes to add his name to the .526-mile track's legacy.

"I think so, because I think our car is good enough," Truex said. "It's just a matter of doing everything right throughout the race [because] this is a tough place to race."

Truex has had a rough start to 2007, with only two finishes better than 15th and a best of eighth, at Atlanta. His previous luck at Martinsville has been little better, with his finishes being 19th and 36th. (Continued)