Greg Biffle fastest in final Talladega practice session

Cool Michael Waltrip helmet, and he was 2nd fastest in practice 1 

Greg Biffle laid down the fastest lap at 197.929 mph Friday afternoon in the final practice session at Talladega Superspeedway in preparation for Sunday's Geico 500 on the 2.66-mile beastly layout. Biffle has never won at Talladega, but did finish second last spring and has a Daytona win to his credit showing that he's a real contender to win this week.

The restrictor-plate races are a crap shoot, and for the most part, the practices mean little. Biffle was a quality candidate to win before practices just because of Roush Fenway Racing having some semblance of an edge they don't have on other type of tracks.

Tony Stewart showed that he might be finally ready for 2015 action after a sluggish start by having the second fastest lap at 197.859 mph. He's been quite adept at plate racing over his career, but his 2008 Talladega win remains his only win on the track.

Aric Almirola (197.696) was next with the third fastest speed, followed by Jimmie Johnson (197.175) and Austin Dillon (197.122). Almirola won at Daytona last July to get himself a ticket into the Chase and Johnson is a two-time Talladega winner, the last coming in 2011.

Rounding out the top-10 fastest drivers during the final session were Matt Kenseth (196.839), David Ragan (196.669), Sam Hornish Jr. (194.603), Casey Mears (194.456) and Brian Scott (193.881) posting the 10th fastest lap speed. Ragan won this race in 2013 at 100-to-1 odds.

Just some friendly betting advice: don't go all in with any of the two practice speeds witnessed on Friday. Most drivers and teams don't care about the session in plate races, so why should you.

Practice 2 Speeds - Biffle fastest

Practice 1 Speeds - Stenhouse fastest