Quest for '06 glory set to go green at Daytona
Preseason Thunder rolls Monday with half of Cup roster
By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
January 8, 2006
05:31 PM EST (22:31 GMT)
Preseason Thunder will roll onto Daytona International Speedway at 9 a.m. ET Monday, flipping the switch from offseason R&R to preseason R&D.
The Nextel Cup drivers hit the track Monday for the first of six days of testing in preparation for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 19. Odd-numbered owners'-points drivers will test Jan. 9-11, while even-numbered owners'-points drivers are scheduled for Jan. 16-18.
Third-time charmJeff Gordon celebrates his third Daytona 500 victory
2005 HighlightsCoverage of the postseason banquet in New York.
Sign up for TrackPass nowBUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE
Truck Series drivers will be at the track Jan. 13-15, and the Busch Series will wrap Preseason Thunder on Jan. 20-22.
There were 88 drivers who competed in at least one Nextel Cup Series race last year, and while rest and relaxation was welcomed by all after the checkered flag at Homestead, research and development was on the minds of many. Specifically, how to narrow the gap between themselves and Tony Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing.
Stewart posted a series-best 17 top-five finishes and 25 top-10s. He was second with five victories. In the end, he won the Chase for the Nextel Cup -- and his second series title -- by 35 points over Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. But even before the last toast was said at the year-end banquet in New York, 2005 was yesterday's news.
One of those drivers looking to -- no, expecting to -- make a charge at the championship in 2006 is Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was off the title-hunt radar for much of '05 and finished a career-worst 19th in points -- three spots lower than his rookie season in 2000.
"We started on our 2006 cars in September of last year," said Tony Gibson, car chief of the No. 8. "We actually had our Daytona car done by the end of November.
"They have both been wind-tunneled and are ready for testing. We are in the process of building another No. 8 Bud car for the Shootout. It would be nice to start the season off by winning another one of those."
During the offseason Earnhardt underwent wrist surgery to remove calcium deposits, but he is expected to be at full throttle when testing begins. He'll also have cousin Tony Eury Jr. in his ear; he begins his first full season atop the No. 8 pit box as crew chief.
"The first few days of testing are just one-car runs," Eury said. "The only thing we're trying to figure out during those runs is if the cars handle OK.
"We can do all the wind tunnel work we want, but it really shows up on the track. All the single-car runs do is determine how your car might do in qualifying -- and all that really does is determine where you start in the Twin 150s."
DEI again will field two full-time Cup operations, with Earnhardt in the familiar No. 8 Chevy and two-time defending Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1 car. Paul Menard also is expected to make seven Cup starts in the No. 15 this year.
"What we are really concerned about is how it does on the last day of testing," Eury said. "That's when we get a real good reading of what we have for Speedweeks. Dale Jr. will basically be hopping from one car to another during the test sessions telling us what he feels."
The No. 8A car being used in testing is the same one Earnhardt raced to Victory Lane in the 2003 Budweiser Shootout. It's also the same car he almost won with in the 2004 spring race at Talladega; he finished second and the car was slightly dented by "fan reaction" to the race ending under caution. The other car, No. 8B, has two wins at Talladega.
"We just had to redo some of the nose, tail and deck lid to go along with the new factory Monte Carlos Chevrolet came out with for this year," Eury said. "We know the car is fast and can win races, now we're going to take it to Daytona to see what we have."
Session I: Nextel Cup Series teams in odd positions in car owner point standings as of July 13, 2005
What: Preseason testing for the 48th Daytona 500 on Feb. 19
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Track Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval superspeedway
When: Monday through Wednesday
Times: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. (one-hour lunch break from noon-1 p.m.)
Who: Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Mike McLaughlin (subbing for Tony Stewart), Ryan Newman, Greg Sacks, Elliott Sadler, Ken Schrader, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr. and Scott Wimmer
Preseason Thunder rolls Monday with half of Cup roster
By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
January 8, 2006
05:31 PM EST (22:31 GMT)
Preseason Thunder will roll onto Daytona International Speedway at 9 a.m. ET Monday, flipping the switch from offseason R&R to preseason R&D.
The Nextel Cup drivers hit the track Monday for the first of six days of testing in preparation for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 19. Odd-numbered owners'-points drivers will test Jan. 9-11, while even-numbered owners'-points drivers are scheduled for Jan. 16-18.
Third-time charmJeff Gordon celebrates his third Daytona 500 victory
2005 HighlightsCoverage of the postseason banquet in New York.
Sign up for TrackPass nowBUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE
Truck Series drivers will be at the track Jan. 13-15, and the Busch Series will wrap Preseason Thunder on Jan. 20-22.
There were 88 drivers who competed in at least one Nextel Cup Series race last year, and while rest and relaxation was welcomed by all after the checkered flag at Homestead, research and development was on the minds of many. Specifically, how to narrow the gap between themselves and Tony Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing.
Stewart posted a series-best 17 top-five finishes and 25 top-10s. He was second with five victories. In the end, he won the Chase for the Nextel Cup -- and his second series title -- by 35 points over Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. But even before the last toast was said at the year-end banquet in New York, 2005 was yesterday's news.
One of those drivers looking to -- no, expecting to -- make a charge at the championship in 2006 is Dale Earnhardt Jr. He was off the title-hunt radar for much of '05 and finished a career-worst 19th in points -- three spots lower than his rookie season in 2000.
"We started on our 2006 cars in September of last year," said Tony Gibson, car chief of the No. 8. "We actually had our Daytona car done by the end of November.
"They have both been wind-tunneled and are ready for testing. We are in the process of building another No. 8 Bud car for the Shootout. It would be nice to start the season off by winning another one of those."
During the offseason Earnhardt underwent wrist surgery to remove calcium deposits, but he is expected to be at full throttle when testing begins. He'll also have cousin Tony Eury Jr. in his ear; he begins his first full season atop the No. 8 pit box as crew chief.
"The first few days of testing are just one-car runs," Eury said. "The only thing we're trying to figure out during those runs is if the cars handle OK.
"We can do all the wind tunnel work we want, but it really shows up on the track. All the single-car runs do is determine how your car might do in qualifying -- and all that really does is determine where you start in the Twin 150s."
DEI again will field two full-time Cup operations, with Earnhardt in the familiar No. 8 Chevy and two-time defending Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 1 car. Paul Menard also is expected to make seven Cup starts in the No. 15 this year.
"What we are really concerned about is how it does on the last day of testing," Eury said. "That's when we get a real good reading of what we have for Speedweeks. Dale Jr. will basically be hopping from one car to another during the test sessions telling us what he feels."
The No. 8A car being used in testing is the same one Earnhardt raced to Victory Lane in the 2003 Budweiser Shootout. It's also the same car he almost won with in the 2004 spring race at Talladega; he finished second and the car was slightly dented by "fan reaction" to the race ending under caution. The other car, No. 8B, has two wins at Talladega.
"We just had to redo some of the nose, tail and deck lid to go along with the new factory Monte Carlos Chevrolet came out with for this year," Eury said. "We know the car is fast and can win races, now we're going to take it to Daytona to see what we have."
Session I: Nextel Cup Series teams in odd positions in car owner point standings as of July 13, 2005
What: Preseason testing for the 48th Daytona 500 on Feb. 19
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Track Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval superspeedway
When: Monday through Wednesday
Times: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. (one-hour lunch break from noon-1 p.m.)
Who: Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Mike McLaughlin (subbing for Tony Stewart), Ryan Newman, Greg Sacks, Elliott Sadler, Ken Schrader, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr. and Scott Wimmer
(especially since I haven't smoked in 3 weeks, coffee just isn't the same. LOL