Final practice shows high line the fastest and riskiest (cont'd)

The top five cars in the final practice were the No. 9 Dodge of Kasey Kahne (176.586 mph); the No. 99 Ford of Carl Edwards (176.298 mph); the No. 15 Chevrolet of Paul Menard (176.240 mph); the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon (176.211 mph); and the No. 48 Chevrolet of three-time LVMS winner Jimmie Johnson (176.108 mph). Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sixth-fastest in his No. 88 Chevy, with a fast lap of 175.999 mph.

Kahne was fastest despite suffering from a sinus infection that was severe enough for Gillett Evernham Motorsports to replace him with teammate Patrick Carpentier for Saturday's Nationwide Series race.

"Kasey was feeling absolutely terrible [Friday] with a real bad sinus infection," said Mark McCardle, vice president of competition for GEM. "After the first practice, we knew we might have to do something to allow Kasey the time to get better for Sunday's race. It became more evident as the day went on, so we went with Patrick to drive the Nationwide race.

"As of [Saturday] morning, we were glad to hear Kasey is feeling and getting better. He has been taking fluids and getting plenty of rest. We have Jason Keller on stand-by if we need to go that route [because Carpentier will be driving his own No. 10 Dodge for GEM in Sunday's Cup race], but we're pretty sure Kasey will be good to go."

Greg Biffle, who was eighth-fastest in Saturday's final practice, explained why the combination of new car and tire make running the high line more probable at the 1.5-mile LVMS track.

"The hard tire, the wider you make the arc, the less you have to turn the wheel in a sense. So the less you slow your car down in the corner, the better off you are, and then you end up going in and coming out higher," Biffle said. 'I don't like that groove, unfortunately, as a driver. You say, 'Why not?' We've won three in a row at Darlington up on the top and you've got to run two inches off the fence there all the way around, but I'm a bottom feeder.

"I love running on the bottom like Mark Martin does. I love to get my car to handle on the bottom. It's frustrating when the hard tire or the car's aerodynamics -- whatever it is, it's just changed; a lot of things in our sport have changed -- have forced that groove to the top."

Of course that could change if the Las Vegas race would start later and finish under the lights, but that's not likely to happen with good weather predicted and a 1:30 p.m. local time start scheduled.

"At night, the groove is fast on the bottom," Biffle said. "When it's hot and sunny, the best groove is up at the top."

One of the few drivers to disagree was Matt Kenseth, Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammate. He was fastest in the morning practice Saturday and has two wins, plus five top-10 finishes, in eight Cup starts at LVMS.

"It seemed like people were in different lines [during the final practices]," Kenseth said. "I saw Jeff Burton out there running his whole run on the high line and obviously everybody thinks the bottom [normally] is preferred, so I think it'll be a two-groove track."