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Day 6 Pictures

Day 6 Test Speeds

OVERALL Test Speeds for the two weeks

4PM
The 2008 testing sessions for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway has ended.

The second session ended Wednesday afternoon at 4PM. There was fear that rain would move in and spoil the day. NASCAR had modified the day allowing teams to work through lunch and end the session ahead of the rain.  But the rain stayed away and those teams that wanted to were able to get in as many laps as they wanted. Most teams however packed up about  3PM and only a few cars were left when the red flag came out.

Kasey Kahne posted the fastest speed of the day with a lap around noon, in drafting, of 189.111. Denny Hamlin was second with a speed of 188.818, Dario Franchitti was third at 188.723, Regan Smith was fourth and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.

The biggest surprises to many of the two past weeks were the performance of the Toyota’s and the strength of Dale Earnhardt Junior’s debut with Hendrick Motorsports.

Both the Toyota teams and Earnhardt were near the top of the speed charts over the last two weeks.

The Toyota strength was no surprise at all though to Lee White, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Toyota Racing Development.

“I think it’s safe to say we’re pleased with what we’ve seen in both test sessions here at Daytona,” White said. “There’s been a lot of hard work by all of our teams and everyone at TRD and I think the dividends of all that work has paid off during these tests.”

White added that TRD engineers have been working on the new car package for the last six months or so, perhaps not paying as much attention to the older cars and instead focusing on the new cars. That work seems to have paid off.

Teams also had a chance to practice in the draft under race conditions. According to some veterans the new car is totally unlike what has been raced here before.

“I made one drafting run of 20 laps and I was at all the ends of the draft,” said Michael Waltrip. “I loved it, my car felt great. You could pull up and you could goof around and make a lot of moves. Even with two or three cars you can already feel yourself being able to pull up and fall back, you don’t just get in line and ride. I can’t wait.”

Dale Earnhardt Juniors debut at Daytona with his new team was also a success.  Earnhardt was fast during all the sessions and many believe that this is only the start of what could be a very successful chapter in his career.

“I hope he does well,” said Daytona 500 champion Kevin Harvick. “I think everybody in the garage is kind of rooting that direction. I don't think anybody wants to see him not do well. I think he will do well. “

There were some who said that now that all the hoopla over his move is over and he can now get down to the business of racing with no pressure. But Earnhardt Junior was the first to admit that he is still under pressure; but that’s just fine with him.

“It’s been pretty nice to be able to concentrate on the things that are important right now and testing and working and getting to know the guys. Earnhardt said. “It's definitely – there's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas. I didn't have to worry about job security when I was over at my other job, but I've got to worry about that now.”

Thanks for joining Amy and me for our coverage from Daytona over the last two weeks. This weekend Amy will be here at Daytona to cover the NASCAR Nationwide Series test while I head to Charlotte North Carolina to get ready for our next ‘live’ event.

Beginning Monday Fox 35’s Kevin Holden and I will be attending the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media Tour hosted by Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. We will be there for a week of shop tours, driver interviews and announcements. Kevin will be filing reports for the news and I’ll be blogging and taking photos of the whole deal.

I hope you’ll join us then….

 

While no times are being posted; The Dodge team for Kasey Kahne is claiming bragging rights for the top speed for session so far from the No. 9 Dodge. According to them, Kahne turned the fastest lap of the day so far with a speed of 189.111. Don't know who is second but according to the team, Dario Franchitti is third...

NOON UPDATE: Everyone is trying to get their laps in before, or if, the rains come. The drafting started early as most teams tried to dodge the incoming rain. Early on NASCAR told teams that they will be going through lunch and ending at 4PM. They also cancelled the media availability for the noon time hour. We can meet up with the drivers later this afternoon. Also there will be no times posted until late this afternoon, NASCAR is considering this as one long session.

We did get a chance to talk to Ryan Newman this morning. He talked about the performance of the new car here at Daytona.

“The cars are sticking a lot better than I thought they would,” Newman said. “Typically here you deal with getting tight through a run. You have to start way loose, then you get tight and whoever can handle the first part of the run is usually good at the end of the run. You have to have the speed to go along with that.”

 

 

 

 

It's the final day of testing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Daytona...

How much testing actually happens today depends on the weather..showers are hovering to the north. If showers do roll in there are two schools of thought; one NASCAR may just tell teams to pack it up, or on the theory that it wouldn't be fair to shorten this weeks test after teams last week got all three days in, they may try and wait it out.

The forecast for tomorrow however looks even less promising, so I expect NASCAR won't wait too long if the rains do come...

After a week spent hovering near the top of the charts. Dodge finally ended a day on top.

Ryan Newman set the fastest lap in Tuesday's afternoon drafting session the first one of the second test, with a speed of 188.013

In drafting it was really good,” Newman said. “ We had a good push and tow at the same time.”

Regan Smith in a Dale Earnhardt Incorporated Chevy was second fastest in the draft, followed by his teammate Paul Menard. Kevin Harvick in a Chevy and Dario Franchitti in a Dodge rounded out the top five.

The fastest Toyota in the first drafting session was Tony Stewart in sixth. The poor performance of the Toyota’s during the afternoon session led many to speculate that the Toyota’s were all trying something different, something that didn’t work.

Overall however, the Toyota’s have been the dominant machines here for the last two weeks, consistently at the top of the charts.

Their strong performance so far in 2008 after a less then stellar debut year in 2007, is a surprise to many. It’s not a surprise however to Lee White director of Motorsports for Toyota.

White told me Tuesday that Toyota’s engineers have been working on the package they have at Daytona for testing for the last six months. They’ve had no choice according to White. Most of the new teams who have swapped to Toyota this year were Chevy last year and the mechanics and chassis techs that work on them were under contract until this year. White said that because of that Toyota engineers worked out a package to have ready for Daytona.

There were no on track incidents at all and the only caution all day was for debris on the front stretch.

 

Tuesday Photo Gallery Click Here

 

CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY PM SPEEDS

CLICK HERE FOR TUESDAY AM SPEEDS

DALE EARNHARDT PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

Dale Earnhardt Jr. tests at Daytona International Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about his move to Hendrick Motorsports.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about his goals for the 2008 season.

Tony Stewart talks about Joe Gibbs Racing's switch to Toyota.