FORT WORTH, Texas - Mike Bliss was the surprise leader during final round of NASCAR Nextel Cup practice at Texas Motor Speedway, piloting the BAM Racing Dodge to a speed of 188.180 mph while Chase contender Mark Martin damaged his primary Roush Racing car in an incident midway through the session.

Martin was taking the low line out of Turn 4 when Tony Raines, intending to go to pit road, came down into the side of his car. Martin’s Ford suffered significant right front damage, and the team quickly prepared a backup car. The backup saw action earlier this year, finishing second at Atlanta in the spring and ninth at Texas in April. Before the incident, Martin had posted the 10th-fastest time in the session.

“We’re gonna run the other car because there’s enough damage to the primary car that it would be tough to fix,” said Martin’s crew chief, Pat Tryson. “These things are so aero sensitive that even though we might be able to fix it, you won’t get it back right and that could make for a real long day.

“We’ll see what we’ve got with this and see if we can get it as close as we can. … It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just racing, but when somebody is trying to come on pit road and they’re not on the bottom and they turn into you, it’s pretty sad.”

Scene Daily