Beautiful spring-like weather blessed the Darlington, S.C. area here today as the 11:20 a.m. practice session began under sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s.

The big story here this week was the recent installation of the SAFER barrier around the already super narrow racetrack. Less than three minutes into the early morning Busch Series practice and a car had already earned a "Darlington Stripe" by whacking the wall in Turn 2.

The same was the case when the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup cars took to the track. Even veterans like former series champ Tony Stewart, who spun coming out of Turn 4 but didn't hit anything, was having trouble adjusting to the changes.

One thing that hasn't changed here is the fact that Mobil 1-sponsored driver Ryan Newman, who calls this track his favorite of them all, is considered the favorite to take the pole in this afternoon's qualifying session.

He certainly made his case early in the practice session. His lap of 29.109 seconds held the top spot with 30 minutes remaining. Mobil 1 teammate Rusty Wallace's 29.360-second lap was sixth at the time, while Brendan Gaughan, their rookie counterpart at Penske Racing South, was 38th on the speed chart with a lap of 30.199 seconds.

Greg Biffle momentarily held the top spot when he turned in a 29.074-second lap with 20 minutes remaining in the practice session, but Newman returned to the track a final time to post a 28.967 and reclaim the top spot as the time ran out.

Newman's practice lap was fastest, with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 28.967 second, Kasey Kahne's 29.002 third, Bobby Labonte's 28.005 fourth and Biffle's earlier lap fifth. Wallace's 29.250 was 12th and Gaughan's earlier lap was still 38th.

Elliott Sadler was first to take to the track when qualifying started at 3:05 p.m. and he put up a 28.918 for everyone to shoot at. Gaughan was out third and he clocked in with a 29.527-second (166.546 mph) lap.

Sadler's lap held the top spot until Derrike Cope pulled off the surprise of the day. His lap of 28.773 (170.910 mph) grabbed the top spot until Kahne, out 22nd, turned in a 28.638 (171.716 mph).

Wallace turned heads with his 28.868 (170.348 mph) and was just barely topped by Newman, the very next driver out, who turned in a 28.793 (170.792 mph).

Earnhardt posed a serious threat to Kahne with his 28.732 (171.154 mph. Johnny Sauter's spin into the Turn 4 pit road safety barrels forced a 25-minute halt in the action. Of the final six drivers to turn their times, Biffle's 28.744-second lap posed the most serious threat.

When the session finally concluded, almost two hours after it started, it was Kahne picking up his second pole of the 2004 season. Earnhardt will start second, with Biffle third, Kurt Busch fourth and Cope fifth. Newman starts sixth, with Wallace seventh, Stewart eighth, Jeff Gordon ninth and Sadler 10th. Gaughan will start from the 37th starting spot.

The teams will focus on their race setups here tomorrow in the two morning practice sessions and get their cars dialed in for Sunday's demanding 400-mile race here on this 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.

Sunday's Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 has a 1:00 p.m. EST starting time and FOX-TV and MRN Radio will provide live coverage.

RUSTY WALLACE (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid) - "One and two was really good. It really drove great. Three and four was great, too. We've learned a lot today. We've done a lot of chassis work and learned a lot of things. I never have been a guy who runs real high on the racetrack, and I've taken a lot of criticism for that. Movin' 'em down to the middle of the track in the groove I normally run in is not too bad for me."