Notes: DEI mum on Martin, Almirola sharing No. 8 car (cont'd)

Taking the heat
Earnhardt took just five practice laps Friday, and said he had a simple reason for doing so.

"It's too hot to work," Earnhardt said of the temperatures that peaked at 104 degrees and were markedly higher on the asphalt of the 2-mile track. Then he actually explained that the folks from the engine shop at DEI have warned him and Truex to limit their cars to no more than a total of 70 laps in all of the pre-race practice sessions as a precaution.

Rudd says goodbye

Ricky Rudd will call it quits after this season with the second-most starts all time.

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After making his qualifying run, driver Tony Stewart of the No. 20 Chevrolet added: "It's just so hot, we all want to get out of these driver's suits. I don't know who thought this was a good idea, coming out to California to race at the end of August."

Off to the back
Rookie Juan Montoya's No. 42 Dodge didn't make it through his qualifying run Friday.

"It just blew up," Montoya said. "In practice, it just popped out of second gear and over-revved a bit. They checked everything and thought it would be OK, but it just let go. It's a bit of a shame."

Although he will have to go to the rear of the field on the starting grid after changing engines, Montoya, 19th in driver points, was able to find a silver lining in his disappointing afternoon.

"I'm glad, actually, that it blew up [Friday] and not on race day," he said.

Start No. 900
Ricky Rudd, driver of the No. 88 Ford, will make his 900th career Cup start this Sunday. Only one other driver, Richard Petty, has made more Cup starts (Petty made a record 1,185).

Rudd, who has 23 career victories, has always been humble about his success and said he believes he knows why.

"I think, from the early part of my career, there was a very fine line on whether I was going to race or work in my dad's salvage yard," Rudd said. "There were a lot of good drivers who came along during [my career] who didn't get the breaks, so I knew there was a fine line. I always took pride that I could drive a racecar. I think my upbringing helped me keep my feet grounded."