Montoya, Hendrick cars rebound in Sat. practices

SONOMA, Calif. -- Denny Hamlin only made 10 laps in Happy Hour on Saturday at Infineon Raceway, but the Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet driver made them count as he led the final session of preparation for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Hamlin had to go to West Allis, Wis., for Saturday night's AT&T 250 Busch Series race at The Milwaukee Mile, but participated in the first 25 minutes of Happy Hour before bolting for the airport.

Hamlin was 14th in the first Saturday practice and was first on the Happy Hour sheet, with a lap in 78.219 seconds, an average speed of 91.589 mph when he left the facility with 31 minutes remaining in practice.

The car had an intermittent electrical issue and crew chief Mike Ford told Hamlin over the team's in-car radio that the distributor and other elements in the electrical system would be changed before Sunday's race.

Defending race winner Jeff Gordon and Formula One refugee Juan Montoya made significant comebacks in Saturday's final two practice sessions for Sunday's 16th Nextel Cup race of the season.

Montoya, the Colombian road-racing veteran who'll make his 17th Nextel Cup start Sunday, has been cautious in his assessment of his chances in his first Cup road race; and his 32nd-place qualifying run Friday bore that out.

But he led the morning's first, 50-minute practice session with a lap in 77.591 seconds, an average speed of 92.330 mph, in his No. 42 Ganassi Racing Dodge. That was more than a second quicker than his qualifying lap on the 1.99-mile circuit.

In cooler temperatures, Kevin Harvick, who won the Watkins Glen road race last season, was second-fastest (77.703 seconds) in his No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Gordon was third (77.803) in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy.

"We made a couple of changes since [Friday when] we were expecting to be a lot better," Montoya said. "With the lap time we did in practice [Saturday] on 10-lap tires we should have been on the front row [of the grid].

"That's a little frustrating, but that's the way it goes. We're learning. We're a little bit behind schedule and did so little testing against some tough teams it was hard to compete.

"Now we're a little better and we're learning our way. We should be OK."

Montoya ended up 12th on the final Happy Hour time sheet.

Gordon, along with teammate Jimmie Johnson, were faced with a more significant challenge than Montoya after their cars failed initial inspection Friday, denying them opening practice and qualifying.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were satisfied with the progress they made between the two sessions. Johnson's No. 48 Impala SS was 16th in the early practice and ninth in Happy Hour.

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In Happy Hour, Gordon's car came and went, and at one point with less than 20 minutes remaining he was volatile in his assessment of his car's handling. But after a package of changes and one final run, Gordon was 10th on the final Happy Hour sheet.

Road-racing veteran Ron Fellows, driving the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Chevrolet that Terry Labonte drove to third in this race last year, was fifth in opening practice Saturday and seventh in Happy Hour.

"We're just trying to make it as good a car as we can, because it's pretty slippery," Fellows said of his changing opinion of the Car of Tomorrow. "The COT, compared to last year, is a little more difficult to drive [so] we're trying to get it to where I can manage the track with the car and make as few mistakes as possible.

"That's going to be the difference. If you can minimize your mistakes you're going to be better off and that's what we're trying to do."

No significant incidents marred either practice, but J.J. Yeley had a narrow escape with 10 minutes remaining in Happy Hour when he spun his No. 18 Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, which was 23rd on the time sheet at the time, in the high-speed Turn 10 without making contact.

The red flag for Yeley's spin left the teams only five minutes of practice when it resumed, but enabled Gordon to register some satisfaction.

"All I know was that, that was an improvement," Gordon told crew chief Steve Letarte, who responded on the radio, "You were seven-tenths [of a second] faster with those changes than on your last run before that."

Earlier in Happy Hour, Robby Gordon drove off course in his own No. 7 Ford that's scheduled to start second and barely made it back to the garage area. He recovered to be third in Happy Hour, behind Hamlin and Tony Stewart.

Kyle Busch also had a momentary off-course excursion in Happy Hour, but rejoined the course without issue.

Jeff Gordon had a problem at the hairpin Turn 11 midway through the Happy Hour session when he spun on the entrance of the corner and came to rest with the car's right side against the outside tire barrier. He limped back to the pits on flat-spotted tires.

The first practice was interrupted by a red flag 20 minutes into the session when Boris Said stalled his No. 60 Ford in Turn 11. Said, the road-racing veteran, was not a factor in either session.

Roush Racing drivers Carl Edwards and David Ragan completely skipped Happy Hour to fly with team owner Jack Roush on Roush's jet to compete in the Busch race.

Edwards was 10th and Ragan, 36th, in the first practice.