Paul Menard (20th) was the top Raybestos Rookie in the final practice session for Sunday’s Samsung 500. The rest of the class: David Ragan (25th) and Juan Pablo Montoya (40th).

PAUL MENARD, No. 15 MENARDS/ENERGIZER CHEVROLET: “It’s the best car we’ve had all year, I think. It’s been a long last couple of weeks and we’ve made a lot of improvements with the team. We’re trying to get a little momentum built up.”

YOU RAN 41 LAPS IN THE FINAL PRACTICE SESSION. “We were trying to see what it does on a long run. On the short run, we’re probably the best we’ve had it all year. You can kind of see that from the times. I guess we’re top-20 which is the best we’ve been in Happy Hour and race runs, I think it’s as close as we’ve been to the leaders in Happy Hour as well. All around, it was a solid practice.”

WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD DAY FOR YOU ON SUNDAY? “I think we’ve got a top-10 car, really. If we finish top-20 or top-15, that’d be a really good day for us. Get some points and try to get back up in the top-35 [owner’s points].”