Junior continues to be fast; Biffle forced to backup

HAMPTON, Ga. -- The good times kept rolling for Dale Earnhardt Jr. during Saturday's final practice session for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

One day after admittedly spending most of his practice time in qualifying trim and having that pay off with his first pole since April of 2008 -- 68 races ago -- Earnhardt remained wicked fast during Happy Hour with a top lap of 185.517 mph at the 1.54-mile track. The only one faster during the final tune-up session was Mark Martin, Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports teammate who posted the fastest lap of the day at 185.524 mph, making the circuit in 29.883 seconds -- just .001 quicker than Earnhardt's top lap.

Strong start, too

Richard Childress Racing has garnered attention for the resurgence of drivers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton this season -- and justifiably so -- but there hasn't been much buzz about Roush Fenway Racing, which has three of its four drivers in the top 12.

"I don't really want to be under the radar anymore," said Greg Biffle, sixth in the Sprint Cup standings and sandwiched between teammates Matt Kenseth (fourth) and Carl Edwards (10th). "We want to be talked about at the front of the field.

"We were third in points last week and got a 10th-place finish and fell back some, but we feel like we're here to stay in the top 10, and we just hope they talk about us and we make enough noise on the race track that they continue to recognize us and talk about us."

-- Sporting News Wire Service

Backup for Biffle

Smacks the concrete wall coming out of Turn 4.

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Rounding out the top 10 on the Happy Hour speed chart were Martin Truex Jr. (185.300 mph, 29.919); Paul Menard (185.232, 29.930); David Ragan (185.226, 29.931); Jeff Burton (185.158, 29.942); Marcos Ambrose (184.560, 30.039), Brian Vickers (184.542, 30.042); Clint Bowyer (184.517, 30.046) and defending race champion Kurt Busch (184.076, 30.118).

It was Earnhardt, however, who turned the most heads in his No. 88 Chevrolet -- backing up his qualifying run with laps in race trim that indicate he likely will be a force Sunday. He is hoping to break a 60-race winless streak.

Earnhardt's capturing of the pole Friday seemed even more remarkable in light of the fact that he struggled in qualifying at AMS last season, when he started 20th and 31st, respectively, in the two races at the venue. He finished 11th and 17th in those events.

"A lot of things can change over a period of time and we've seen race teams completely change their identity almost in offseasons before," Earnhardt said. "I hope that's what we've been able to do."

While Earnhardt was pleased with his qualifying and final practice effort, driver Greg Biffle had to overcome some adversity in his No. 16 Ford after slapping the wall during the last practice and being forced to go to his backup car. Biffle had qualified 13th for Sunday's race, but now will have to start at the rear of the 43-car field because of the change in cars.

"I just got a little bit loose running the top," Biffle said. "The back end touched the wall and sucked the nose over right where they stopped the SAFER barrier. I hit right in the worst spot, where the wall was kinked out. I touched and it turned the car into where I hit the part of the wall that was jutting out and it just killed the car."

The good news, according to Biffle, was that he was able to get out for the last portion of practice in his backup car and that he actually preferred the way that one drove over how his primary car had been handling.

"Yeah, I'm really happy," he said. "To be honest with you, it couldn't have gone better. I got out with six minutes to go. The car drove really, really well and it drove better than my old car for that short run. I think we're gonna be pretty good."

He is not alone. Earnhardt, among others, is very excited about his prospects in Sunday's race at a track where he has won previously. He won the spring race at AMS in 2004.

Now he is aiming to corral another victory, which would be his first since capturing the June race at Michigan in 2008. He said he heads into the Kobalt Tools 500 not only at the front of the field, but also armed with an extra shot of confidence because of his pole-winning run in qualifying.

"It builds a lot of confidence and I'm just hoping to see this type of difference over on the car Sunday," Earnhardt said. "I think it's just a matter of time. If we keep performing like this, it should start leaking over to our performance on Sundays -- and we can get to where we want to be as a race team."

Related:
• Junior zooms to pole at Atlanta | Lineup | Video: Earnhardt's pole run