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The president of Toyota Racing Development said he was embarrassed by a rash of engine problems that forced four motor changes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Lee White said the engine issue, which first popped up last week at California, appeared to be related to lubricants and coolings in the motors that TRD builds at its Costa Mesa, Calif., factory.

The motors for Brian Vickers, Scott Speed, David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose all had to be pulled after qualifying Friday.

Vickers also had to switch motors last week after winning the pole in California, as did Michael Waltrip.

Kyle Busch, the pole-winner for this Sunday's race, also changed a Toyota motor on Friday, but his was built by Joe Gibbs Racing and the issue was unrelated to the TRD problems.

White said TRD thought the issue was resolved after California, and was bothered that changes the company made didn't work.

"We thought (the change) was the right direction," White said. "I'm disturbed to say that the right direction apparently was the wrong direction. We came here and thought we had a handle on it. We didn't. We made it worse."

TRD is using different lubricants and coatings on the motors now in place for Sunday, and five additional engines were sent from Costa Mesa to be on hand in case additional switches were needed after Saturday's practice session. All the TRD motors appeared to be free of the problem following a post-practice inspection late Saturday afternoon.

The problem appears within the first 75 miles of use, and once an engine passes that mark, it is good for the remainder of the race.

"We're going to use a heavier lubrication and not try to squeeze every ounce of horsepower out of them," said White, who estimated the difference will be between four and five horsepower.

"Four or five horsepower is not insignificant in this league. No driver in the world would give it up willingly. But every team ... needs to get to the end. Our goal is to give them the best shot."

FIRST TO WORST: Technically there was nowhere for Matt Kenseth to go but down in Sunday's Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but nobody could have expected him to go from first to worst.

After winning at Daytona and California to start the 2009 Sprint Cup season, Kenseth's bid for an unprecedented third straight victory was over almost before it started and he finished 43rd--last.

"Something busted in there," Kenseth said of the engine in the No. 17 Ford. "It's disappointing we didn't get to race today."

Kenseth started 40th after a disappointing qualifying effort. After Brad Keselowski hit the wall, cut a tire and spun out just after completing a lap, Kenseth took advantage of the caution to come to pit road and have his crew check under the hood.

He went back on the track but just after the restart, on Lap 7, Kenseth's car began spewing white smoke and he headed for the garage. He was done.

"First is better than last, that's for sure" Kenseth joked after climbing from his car. It was only the second time in 331 Cup races that Kenseth had finished 43rd. The other time was the final race in 2003 at Homestead, Fla., when Kenseth had already clinched that year's championship.

"It broke right away," Kenseth said of Sunday's failure.

MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO: Minutes before the start of the final Sprint Cup Series practice, several of the top drivers in NASCAR could be seen running through the garage.

Jeff Burton led Brian Vickers, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards as they weaved in and out of groups of fans trying to get to their cars.

The drivers had just left the pre-race meeting for the Nationwide Series race, when Burton broke into a trot. The rest then followed him, even though they all made it to their garage stalls with plenty of time to spare before the start of practice.