Drivers with fast cars will have to remain patient

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Robby Gordon may have led the entire final practice session at Watkins Glen International but maybe it's because Tony Stewart left a half-hour early.

Greg Zipadelli, Stewart's crew chief said clearly the No. 20 was the fastest car out there Saturday and they just left it alone, since "Smoke" was happy with the car.

Only three drivers not named Gordon or Stewart have a victory in the past 10 years at The Glen and three of Stewart's five road-course wins have come here.

Robby Gordon, who posted a 123.642 mph lap in the final practice session has two road course wins, one each at Watkins Glen and Infineon.

The driver of the No. 7 will start 29th on Sunday because qualifying was rained out.

"Yeah that's unfortunate, but all and all we are in good shape," Gordon said.

Sunday will be a first for NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at The Glen and Zipadelli said the car is not very different from the former chassis.

"We took a lot of the same principles from the old car and were able to apply them to this car," he said. "It's a little top-heavy and gives up more over long runs but that true for the COT on short tracks as well."

Joe Gibbs Racing's COT program is second only to Hendrick Motorsports. Gibbs driver Denny Hamlin, fifth-fastest in Saturday's final practice, has one COT victory, at New Hampshire.

Hamlin said he initially was apprehensive to run the road-course race in the Busch car, but he too felt there were a lot of similarities between the new and old machines at The Glen.

"On Sunday it's strictly strategy, the car feels great and surprisingly doesn't feel that different from the Busch car," Hamlin said.

Hamlin said he was happy with his car in final practice and has no kinks to work out before the green flag drops on Sunday: Just get in and drive.

As for what it will take to put the car in Victory Lane, Zipadelli said it will be the driver who makes the fewest mistakes.

"You have to find the edge, the edge of the point of no return," he said. "Know where that is but don't go beyond it."

Carl Edwards, who has never won on a road course but finished fifth last season, was one of a handful of drivers who went beyond the point of no return Saturday and found one of the gravel traps.

Edwards said the crew had changed the front brakes and the car had more break in the rear so it caused Edwards to "hop the tires." Other than that, he said he was happy with the car.

"It's really not that much different here, but yeah, we know it runs well through the gravel now though," Edwards laughed.

Edwards ended the final practice session 17th.

And after all the talk last weekend about how well he performers at the Glen and on road courses, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found himself 28th-fastest, while teammate Martin Truex Jr. was 15th.

DEI officials said Junior struggled with the car through the esses, the section of corners on the backstretch. It's critical to be better through the esses because it's a fast uphill section that leads the chicane, a key passing zone.