Last week at Martinsville the race came down to a battle between defending series champion Jimmie Johnson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin.  In Saturday’s final practice session at the Texas Motor Speedway, the pair once again battled for the top-spot on the leaderboard.

Johnson and Hamlin tied for the fastest time in the final session in preparation for Sunday’s Samsung 500.  The two competitors both ran their fastest time of the practice on their first lap around the 1.5-mile facility, posting a time of 29.393 seconds at a speed of 183.717 mph.

"I think we’re in good shape,” Johnson said of his chances this weekend. “We’ve got to switch gears and get out of the short track mindset. I don’t think Atlanta really crosses over here all that much, but Las Vegas does and we were really fast in Vegas, so I think we’ll be good.”

Like the pair atop the leaderboard, most teams posted their fastest lap of the session on their first lap. With qualifying behind them and with only one more chance to get everything just right before Sunday’s race, teams worked on ensuring their car would handle perfectly.

Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was third-quick in the session, while Jamie McMurray and David Gilliland rounded out the top-5. Pole-sitter David Reutimann posted the seventeenth-fastest time of the session.

Sunday’s Samsung 500 is the seventh race for the Sprint Cup Series in 2009.  With Jeff Gordon atop the leaderboard and Johnson and Hamlin carrying momentum with them into the weekend, there is no telling what the event will have in store.