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Texas: Samsung 500 - Last minute notes (4/6/08)

Pole: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 190.907 mph
Outside pole: Carl Edwards - 189.487 mph
Didn't qualify: Dario Franchitti, Chad McCumbee and Burney Lamar

Jeff Burton is the only driver to win more than once in 14 races at Texas.

Dale Jr. seems to be the popular pick for this weekend. He's starting from the pole, but he's trying to win only his first race since Richmond in 2006.  However, don't count out Kyle Busch, who won at - the similar - Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year, and who dominated the Nationwide Series race on Saturday.

Roush looks good also: The five cars of the Roush Fenway Racing team were impressive in the final Cup practice.  Carl Edwards posted the fastest lap of the session and Greg Biffle the second best. All five drivers were in the top 12.

"We're real happy with where our Cup cars are," owner Jack Roush said. "We've really got a lock on the mile-and-a-half tracks. If the weather is good, we know we can run well."

From Michael McDowell:
"I want to be in the media spotlight for the right reason and that's for being a good race car driver and running well," McDowell said on Saturday. "The second part of it is that you'll take it whenever you can get it. Especially with the way this sport is right now. We don't want to go out there and wreck cars to get on TV, that's never the plan. If you're going to do one as spectacular as we did, we'll definitely soak up as much as we can get.

"Nobody is going to forget this wreck, but it doesn't guarantee me that I'm going to have a ride. The only thing that guarantees me of having a ride is performance and that's what I'm going to focus on. I'll climb back in there and do it."