Kevin Harvick had perhaps the most dominant car in Saturday's O'Reilly 300 – when it was on the track.

Harvick, in his first year driving for his own team full-time on the Nationwide Series, led 55 of the first 56 laps. But he broke an axle on Lap 57 as he spun the tires as the jack dropped on a pit stop.

Harvick sat in the car as the team changed the axle in the garage, returning 21 laps down on Lap 80. He finished 21 laps down in 34th.

"We were fast early, and we were fast late," Harvick said.

Mark Zeske

David Gilliland didn't have a fast enough qualifying time Friday to make the field for the Samsung 500 but will race today thanks to a provision based on owner points.

He drove more laps than any other driver in Cup practice Saturday, trying to get his car up to speed. Gilliland drove 37 laps in the first session and a whopping 59 in the second. He ended the day as the sixth-fastest driver.

Gilliland and Yates Racing teammate Travis Kvapil are racing white cars without a sponsor this weekend.

"What happened in qualifying was definitely disappointing," Gilliland said. "But I feel like we have a good car in race trim."

Mark Zeske

The five cars of the Roush Fenway Racing team were impressive in the final Cup practice, held before the Nationwide race Saturday.

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."

Mark Zeske

Among the spectators in the garage area Saturday was three-time NHRA Funny Car champion Raymond Beadle, a Texas native and a long-time Dallas resident.

After retiring as a driver, Beadle won the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup championship as a team owner with driver Rusty Wallace.

"I'm just here to visit with friends like [current team owners] Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush," Beadle said.

Mark Zeske

Clint Bowyer maintained his points lead in the Nationwide Series with a third-place finish in the O'Reilly 300. He led only one lap, the 93rd, but ran in the top five for most of the race.

Bowyer entered the race 11 points ahead of Carl Edwards, but expanded his lead to 57 as Edwards finished 13th. Bowyer wasn't impressed.

"It was kind of a boring race," he said.

Mark Zeske

ESPN analyst Dale Jarrett wore his North Carolina cap in support of the Tar Heels as they competed in the Final Four. Jarrett said he planned to attend Monday's championship game if UNC plays in it. ... McKinney driver Robert Richardson Jr. finished 29th in the O'Reilly 300, which also was his starting position. He completed 194 laps in the 200-lap race. ... Dario Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner, finished 11th and was selected top rookie for the fourth race this season. Franchitti also led a lap for the first time in his NASCAR career. He said the finish somewhat made up for the disappointment of not qualifying for today's Samsung 500. ... The O'Reilly 300 had the fewest caution laps of any of the 15 Nationwide races held at TMS, with four yellows for 12 laps. Two of those came on laps 2 and 3, when a rolled up T-shirt found its way onto the track after being propelled into the stands as a giveaway.TMS president Eddie Gossage talked about a few issues with media members Saturday. Among them:

•He said the newly unified IndyCar Series still has work to do.

"I'm concerned that they think, 'OK, everything is fixed and we're back on top of everything,' " Gossage said. "They took a big step, but there's more work to do."

Gossage complained that the series doesn't do a lot to help Texas Motor Speedway promote its event June 7, despite a high sanctioning fee.

"We pay more and get a lot less," Gossage said.

•He said he'd like the November NASCAR race at TMS moved earlier, preferably as the first race in the Chase.

•He said Bruton Smith, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of TMS, does not plan on moving one of the races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to Las Vegas. Smith's firm owns both tracks.

•And he said that he'd support putting SAFER barriers on more parts of the track if research shows that's necessary. But he'd like others to help pay for the cost, maybe taking it out of the purse.

Richard Durrett