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TonyB
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FROM NASCAR.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a Roush Racing kind of day Saturday at Daytona International Speedway as the second phase of NASCAR Preseason Thunder got underway with a Craftsman Truck Series test.
Young teammates Carl Edwards and Jon Wood -- who won five times between them last season -- dominated the time sheets in their Ford F-150s fielded by Jack Roush.
Edwards was quickest in both the morning and afternoon sessions and turned his best lap, 49.664 seconds, an average speed of 181.218 mph, in the morning. Wood improved in the afternoon to backup his teammate and post the second best lap of the day, 49.919/180.292.
The Ford pair led a quartet of Dodge Rams on the cumulative time sheet for the day, as a trio of Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodges driven by new recruit Chase Montgomery (180.166 mph), the team owner (180.054) and Chad Chaffin (179.451) rounded out the top five.
Sixth-10th were Steve Grissom (Dodge), top Chevrolet driver Dennis Setzer, new Dodge recruit Steve Park and Chevy factory drivers Matt Crafton and David Starr.
"We've got a great team and I've got a year of experience under my belt, so I feel a little more comfortable with the aerodynamic tendencies of the truck," said Edwards, who crashed last season in his Daytona debut while running in the top-10. "I think we have a really good program and I don't think it can be any more exciting than opening the season under the lights at Daytona."
Edwards became a media celebrity thanks to his habit of doing a back flip from the rear deck of his race truck following a victory, but there's no mistaking the competitive fire he brings to the 2004 season.
"I can't quite describe to you guys how seriously I take this and how much effort I put in," Edwards said. "I will feel let down if I didn't do my very best and try my hardest in every way to be the best driver I can be.
"I feel with a little bit of experience, anything less than championship hopes is out of the question."
Wood finished fifth last season in the championship and Edwards was eighth.
"We do have a great rivalry between us and I think that stems from everything being so outwardly appearing the same," Edwards said of he and Wood. "We have the same resources, we are close to the same age and experience level, so you get that."
No incidents marred the day, which concluded with an hour of drafting practice for which no lap times were released.
Toyota opened its inaugural year in the Craftsman Truck Series by participating in its first public test with a group of its trucks.
The best of the seven Toyotas at the test was David Reutimann's Tundra fielded by Darrell Waltrip Racing. Reutimann was 17th of the 30 drivers that posted a time.
Inaugural Truck Series champion Mike Skinner, who makes his return to the series this season in a factory-backed Toyota, was behind Reutimann in 18th and said the Tundras' progress was about what he expected.
"We get a tiny bit better every time we get on the racetrack with our new Tundra," Skinner said. "Another second wouldn't make us the fastest by any means but it would at least make us competitive -- but it's new.
"The parts and pieces in this engine didn't get approved until very late in the game. Six, eight months from now we'll be an awful lot better than we are now (but) our biggest issue is time.
"Time will tell the story and I think the Tundra is gonna be competitive -- but right now we need a second to be competitive."
Skinner said chassis dynamometer tests had shown a small deficiency in the Toyota engines and that learning the trucks' bodies was also costing the Toyota teams.
"I don't know that it's all under the hood," Skinner said. "The chassis dyno said we were about 25 (horsepower) off, and that's a lot, here. But don't forget, it's a new body and a new engine and a new team.
"We're reasonably competitive and we're in the top two or three in the Toyota camp. If there was one (Toyota) that was leaps and bounds ahead of us that would say one thing, but they're not so that's all right."
The three-day test continues Sunday, with several additional teams expected to join the field.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a Roush Racing kind of day Saturday at Daytona International Speedway as the second phase of NASCAR Preseason Thunder got underway with a Craftsman Truck Series test.
Young teammates Carl Edwards and Jon Wood -- who won five times between them last season -- dominated the time sheets in their Ford F-150s fielded by Jack Roush.
Edwards was quickest in both the morning and afternoon sessions and turned his best lap, 49.664 seconds, an average speed of 181.218 mph, in the morning. Wood improved in the afternoon to backup his teammate and post the second best lap of the day, 49.919/180.292.
The Ford pair led a quartet of Dodge Rams on the cumulative time sheet for the day, as a trio of Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodges driven by new recruit Chase Montgomery (180.166 mph), the team owner (180.054) and Chad Chaffin (179.451) rounded out the top five.
Sixth-10th were Steve Grissom (Dodge), top Chevrolet driver Dennis Setzer, new Dodge recruit Steve Park and Chevy factory drivers Matt Crafton and David Starr.
"We've got a great team and I've got a year of experience under my belt, so I feel a little more comfortable with the aerodynamic tendencies of the truck," said Edwards, who crashed last season in his Daytona debut while running in the top-10. "I think we have a really good program and I don't think it can be any more exciting than opening the season under the lights at Daytona."
Edwards became a media celebrity thanks to his habit of doing a back flip from the rear deck of his race truck following a victory, but there's no mistaking the competitive fire he brings to the 2004 season.
"I can't quite describe to you guys how seriously I take this and how much effort I put in," Edwards said. "I will feel let down if I didn't do my very best and try my hardest in every way to be the best driver I can be.
"I feel with a little bit of experience, anything less than championship hopes is out of the question."
Wood finished fifth last season in the championship and Edwards was eighth.
"We do have a great rivalry between us and I think that stems from everything being so outwardly appearing the same," Edwards said of he and Wood. "We have the same resources, we are close to the same age and experience level, so you get that."
No incidents marred the day, which concluded with an hour of drafting practice for which no lap times were released.
Toyota opened its inaugural year in the Craftsman Truck Series by participating in its first public test with a group of its trucks.
The best of the seven Toyotas at the test was David Reutimann's Tundra fielded by Darrell Waltrip Racing. Reutimann was 17th of the 30 drivers that posted a time.
Inaugural Truck Series champion Mike Skinner, who makes his return to the series this season in a factory-backed Toyota, was behind Reutimann in 18th and said the Tundras' progress was about what he expected.
"We get a tiny bit better every time we get on the racetrack with our new Tundra," Skinner said. "Another second wouldn't make us the fastest by any means but it would at least make us competitive -- but it's new.
"The parts and pieces in this engine didn't get approved until very late in the game. Six, eight months from now we'll be an awful lot better than we are now (but) our biggest issue is time.
"Time will tell the story and I think the Tundra is gonna be competitive -- but right now we need a second to be competitive."
Skinner said chassis dynamometer tests had shown a small deficiency in the Toyota engines and that learning the trucks' bodies was also costing the Toyota teams.
"I don't know that it's all under the hood," Skinner said. "The chassis dyno said we were about 25 (horsepower) off, and that's a lot, here. But don't forget, it's a new body and a new engine and a new team.
"We're reasonably competitive and we're in the top two or three in the Toyota camp. If there was one (Toyota) that was leaps and bounds ahead of us that would say one thing, but they're not so that's all right."
The three-day test continues Sunday, with several additional teams expected to join the field.
