Join us » day in that way, Alonso said.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Carl Edwards became the early favorite to win NASCARs championship with a strong showing in the final practice before Sundays title-deciding finale.Edwards was the fastest championship contender in the category that is the best indicator for race readiness. On pure speed, his Toyota was second fastest overall in Saturdays practice. Edwards was fifth on the chart for best 10 consecutive lap averages, and thats typically the clue as to who has a strong car.I couldnt have asked for a better practice than that, Edwards said. We didnt have any problems.Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and teammate Kyle Busch will race Sunday for the Chase championship. The highest finisher at Homestead-Miami Speedway wins the title.Edwards last raced for a championship in 2011, when he lost the title on a tie-breaker to Tony Stewart. Now a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, hes in the championship finale for the first time in the three years of this elimination format. One of the most structured and regimented drivers in the series, hes handling the stress of a hectic championship week like a pro.Hes been loose and funny, despite total chaos. His motorhome broke down on the way to Miami, the loaner was a dud, and when he finally got some accommodations, he had none of his personal belongings. Edwards had to make an emergency trip to a Macys to buy clothes to wear to a Miami Beach dinner party.Yet hes managed to focus on Sunday and give thought to what might transpire.Anything can happen in this race. You kind of visualize it being straight forward, but theres a lot of fast cars that arent one of us four guys racing for a championship, so I think its going to be a really good battle, he said.Indeed, those outside the championship four are a pretty stout group of potential winners. Martin Truex Jr., the strongest driver in the first round of the Chase before he was eliminated in the second round, was fastest on speed.Kevin Harvick had the best 10 consecutive lap average. He was eliminated from the finale last week and isnt racing for the title for the first time in three seasons.Also in the mix is Stewart, who is retiring Sunday from NASCAR competition. He has a decent car for his last Cup race in a Chevrolet, a brand he has long represented but will take his Stewart-Haas Racing organization to Ford next year.Johnson, seeking a record-tying seventh championship, was ninth in the final practice. He hit a hose that fell off another car, dismissing it as just a little scratch.Driving much better, great speed, short run speed, long run speed, he said. We made some good improvements there at the end of that.Busch was 13th and Logano, trying to become the first Ford driver to win a title since 2004, was 21st and didnt sound thrilled with his car.Were OK. We need to work on our stuff a little bit, he said. I know weve been on both sides of the fence, and we havent been the fastest yet, so well keep working on it. Fernando Alonso says McLaren ticked off everything it wanted to do with Hondas upgrade on Friday in Malayisa, declaring its introduction a good day.Alonso has taken on the new specification of Honda engine the Japanese manufacturer spent two tokens on ahead of this weekend. Though the new engine also came with a 30-place grid penalty, the Spaniard will not use it on Saturday or Sunday, with McLaren exploiting a loophole (set to be closed in 2017) meaning he can use it as-good-as-new without punishment for Hondas home race in Japan.The Spaniard looked more competitive throughout the day, finishing fifth in FP1 -- under 0.2s behind Sebastian Vettels Ferrari on the same compound -- and then seventh in the qualifying simulations in the afternoon.We managed to complete a good number of laps and do all the tests we had planned for today, including some parts already for next years car, so it was a very good day in that way, Alonso said. Now well see how to approach the rest of the weekend, particularly in FP3, as well be doing long runs to prrepare for the race.ddddddddddddWith a hefty grid penalty on its way Alonso then explained why he is unlikely to be a prominent figure in qualifying on Saturday.Qualifying will be very short for me -- Ill do just one timed lap, to get within 107 per cent of the pole time and then Ill watch the rest of the action on TV! Then Ill save as many new tyres as possible for the race to attack from start to finish.Alonso thinks teammate Jenson Button, running the old specification of engine the Spaniard will switch back to but without a penalty, can make the top-ten shootout.?I think with Jenson the team can fight for Q3. Hopefully I can join him in the points at the end of the race. We are expecting rain, I dont know if it will come for qualifying or for the race, but whenever it comes it will help us. So theres all to play for, today was a good day, because we did a lot of laps and the things we tried worked well. ' ' '