Kenseth, Fords set torrid pace during final practice

LAS VEGAS -- Matt Kenseth and many of his Ford brethren continue set a torrid pace at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Sunday's pole-sitter again sitting atop the weekend speed chart with the best time in final practice Saturday.

If anyone has anything for the Fords, the best bets could be Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman. Busch led a strong contingent of Toyotas in happy hour as Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing drivers comprised five of the top 10 speeds.

Busch couldn't quite reach Kenseth's 184 mph plateau, but he did have the best average speed (182.451 mph) for 10 consecutive laps. His topped out at 183.717 mph. He will start fifth on Sunday, the best non-Ford from qualifying.

Busch wasn't overly enthusiastic about his first practice run -- he was 17th best on the speed chart -- but his mood has steadily improved since qualifying.

"It's coming along," Busch said. "The guys made some really good adjustments there and the car drove a lot better."

Newman was one of only two Chevrolets in the top 10 in final practice, his speed of 183.680 good enough for third. He's also the best-starting Chevy for the race, in eighth place.

"I think we're going to have a pretty good race car on Sunday," said Newman, who joined Stewart-Haas Racing teammate and owner Tony Stewart among the fastest in the session. Stewart was eighth. Otherwise, the Chevrolets haven't made much noise thus far.

Yet Jeff Gordon seemed undeterred. He was mid-pack on the final speed chart but he and teammate Jimmie Johnson will start alongside one another on Row 7 and just ahead of Stewart on Row 8.

"And now we go from here," said Gordon, who rebounded from a spin in the opening practice to put down "a decent lap in qualifying. I think we're going to end on a fairly positive note here."

Busch also has a teammate close by come green flag, as Joey Logano followed his sixth-place qualifying run with the ninth-best time in final practice, although he couldn't quite reach 183 mph.

"I have a good race car, so we'll see how it goes for us," Logano said. "We'll have a decent start and go from there."

MWR teammates David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. were sixth and seventh, respectively, just behind the Fords of Carl Edwards (fourth) and Greg Biffle (fifth).

"We've had fast race cars, we haven't had great finishes yet, hopefully this will be our week," said Truex, who will roll off ninth. "This by far the best car I've ever had here at Vegas, so I'm excited about the weekend."