MARTIN FASTEST IN HAPPY HOUR

Mark Martin, in the No. 6 Ford, was fastest during the NEXTEL Cup’s final practice session, known as Happy Hour.

Martin’s top speed of 185.669 came in his second of 44 laps during the practice session.

Elliot Sadler, also in a Ford, was second on the speed chart with a speed of 184.995

Robby Gordon, who is running his own single-car team, was fourth on the list with a speed of 184.66 on his first lap.

Pole sitter Kasey Kahne was 18th on the speed chart with a speed of 183.486.

TONY STEWART WINS IROC RACE

Tony Stewart won his first race at Texas Motor Speedway, coming from the back of the field and adding another climbed fence to his list.

Stewart got his third career International Race of Champions victory Friday night in a race that saw bump drafting, a maneuver where drivers use their front bumper to push the back bumper in the car in front of them to reduce drag and increase speed, and 13 lead changes.

Martin Truex, Jr., who also started in the back with Stewart because the two missed the mandatory practice session, finished third and said the racing in the IROC cars is a fun escape from the pressures of NASCAR.

Ryan Newman finished second after pushing Stewart to the win on the final lap.

“Tony looked like his was on the loose side but Martin couldn’t get close enough to me to give me a push,” Newman said.

NASCAR drivers took the top five places in the 12-car field. The only NASCAR driver not in the top five was NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Ted Musgrave, who finished ninth.

Steve Kinser, who drives Sprint Cars in the World of Outlaws Series, was involved in a harrowing wreck when he got loose and his car barrel rolled and spun around like a bullet out of a gun four times before landing on all four wheels. This is the second IROC race where Kinser has been in a large scale accident.

Stewart, who has been an outspoken voice in the NASCAR ranks about the danger of bump drafting, said he didn’t use the move at all during the race. When asked if he thought there was too much of it in Friday’s race, his reply was “it is what it is.”

Mark Martin led 31 laps, the most of any driver, but finished fourth.

At the end of the race, Stewart said he didn’t plan on doing his traditional celebration of climbing the fence, but when the crowd demanded it, he felt obliged.

“There were 60 or 70 thousand people saying climb the fence,” Stewart said. “It was 60 thousand against one, so I figured it was just easier to climb the fence.”

“I guess that shows you how much we’ve started there, how much it means to the fans, it doesn’t matter they we were wearing, they still wanted us to do it,” he said.

STRONG WINDS AFFECT TV BROADCAST

Strong winds on the top level of the TMS Grandstands have created an unsafe environment for the SPEED Network’s camera crews during Friday’s IROC race.The race will be broadcast on SPEED using the onboard and robocams that surround the track and cars.

KHANE GETS CUP POLE

Kasey Khane won the Bud Pole for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 with a speed of 190.315.

NEMECHEK HITS WALL IN PRACTICE

Joe Nemechek, driver of the No. 01 Army Chevrolet hit the wall during the final practice before qualifying. Nemechek was uninjured, but had to go to his backup car for the rest of practice.

“I think we’re going to be just fine. It’s unfortunate,” he said. “It got loose off turn two, but before that it was getting up to speed like it was supposed to do.”

Nemechek’s primary car was the same one the team ran at Atlanta Motor Speedway three weeks ago.

TMS TO FEATURE LAP COUNTDOWN

When the NASCAR circuit came to TMS last November, TMS President and General Manager Eddie Gossage wanted to have the scoring pylons at the track count down the race’s laps, but NASCAR officials would not allow it.

The scoring pylons have now been outfitted with a six-digit scoreboard at the top so the laps can be counted up and down.

Gossage likened counting the laps down with the game clock in a football game. He added the practice would create more drama for fans.

"NASCAR had some compeition reasons for counting the laps up, and we had some fan reasons to count them down, Gossage said. "These are the kinds of things we want to be known for. These are the kinds of things that make us "The Great American Speedway."

HALL OF FAME RACING MAKES HOME TRACK DEBUT

Hall of Fame Racing, the team owned by former Dallas Cowboy quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, makes its debut at TMS this weekend.

Former NASCAR Cup champion Terry Labonte handled driving the No. 96 Texas Instruments DLP Chevy for the first five races of the year, guaranteeing the team a start in the races. Tony Raines took over last weekend at Martinsville, and will continue to drive the car at Ft. Worth.

LABONTE WILL DRIVE INTREPID

Bobby Labonte, who joined Petty Enterprises this season, will drive a 2004 Dodge Intrepid at Sunday’s Samsung/RadioShack 500. Some of the Dodge teams have been experimenting with the car body that was used until the Charger was introduced in 2005 because they felt they were getting a competitive advantage.

While the No. 43 team said they have a fast car, they aren’t using the Intrepid because of a problem with the Charger.

Labonte said the team is low on cars that can run on intermediate length tracks like TMS. The team could have brought a Charger, but preferred the Intrepid they brought because it was a proven car. The car had previously been run at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

HAMLIN WINS BUSCH POLE

Denny Hamlin won his first Busch Series pole Thursday. Hamlin drives for Joe Gibbs racing and will compete in both the Busch Series and NEXTEL Cup races this weekend.