The first test session of the year is a three day affair at Daytona International
Speedway on January 7-9. The drivers who finished in odd numbered points
positions in the owners standings in 2001 are in Daytona for this round
of testing.
JG: "The first day, I was kind of blown away that we could
be down here testing again already.
When the season ends, you're really looking forward
to the down time. But I'm ready. Last year was such a
great year, I'm excited to see how we're going do this
year."
Images From Daytona Testing
Exclusive Images From Daytona:
January 9 Testing Report
Jeff Gordon's pre-season test session at Daytona concluded on Wednesday.
The Ford teams continue to play their factory ordered game and didn't
showcase their full potential. "I believe the top
five or top 10 cars on the speed sheets have been really trying," Dale
Earnhardt Jr said. "I don't think the rest of the guys out there are
showing what they got. A lot of guys are using 40-bleed or 60-bleed shocks
on their rear, slowing their cars down.. I think a lot of the Fords,
I think they all got together and planned on running like they're
running right now. I know they got more than what they're showing."
Top "Qualifying Lap" Speeds From The Test Session
Overall Top Speeds For Wednesday, January 9
January 8 Testing Report
Day Two brought another day of mock qualifying runs. Once again, speeds
picked up in the afternoon as the track temperature increased.
Geoffrey Bodine once again was the fastest Ford which obviously indicates
that the Yates and Roush teams are holding something back in the hopes
of getting a rules concession before Speedweeks.
Overall Top Speeds For Tuesday, January 8
Tuesday, January 8 - Test Speeds By Car
January 7 Testing Report
Opening day has traditionally found the teams focused more on qualifying runs
than race conditions. The drafting packs which will be evident under
race conditions didn't materialize. Flat out speed for qualifying runs
was the order of the day. Speeds tended to pick up as the day progressed
with air temperatures rising into the 50's. Most teams tested two cars.
Jeff Gordon was seventh fastest in the morning session in car #24A. In the
afternoon session, Gordon was third fastest. Overall he was sixth
fastest of the 23 drivers testing on Monday.
Overall Top Speeds For Monday, January 7
Dave Blaney - Ford - 179.770 - 179.637
Monday, January 7 - Morning Speeds
Note: Image links will open in a new browser window
(Photos by Yvonne)
+Jeff on track in car 24A | +Car 24A at 190 miles per hour | +Waiting on pit road
+2002 Daytona 500 pacecar | +Dale Earnhardt Jr. zooms by | +Mike Skinner's crew at work
+Sterling Marlin on pit road
Photos From Daytona News Outlets:
+24A on Wednesday | +Jeff in the garage during testing
Gordon and his
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Terry Labonte
worked on overall lap times and were among the fastest. When not observing the test from
atop the team haulers, Gordon's crew chief Robbie Loomis and team manager
Brian Whitesell could be found pouring over the data acquisition numbers on
laptop computers.
In the late afternoon, a brief drafting session was held-- where cars ran
tightly together to get a feel of handling conditions under simulated
race conditions.
Ward Burton (184.961), Kenny Wallace (184.502) , Kurt Busch (183.948),
Dale Jarrett (183.902), and
Mark Martin (183.793) posted fast laps in the draft.
Listed by the fast lap for each driver over the three day test
Jimmie Johnson (#48A) 183.816
Ward Burton (#22A) 183.748
Kenny Wallace (#1) 183.486
Dale Earnhardt Jr (#8) 183.475
Jeff Gordon (#24A) 183.262
Bobby Hamilton (#55A) 183.139
Stacy Compton (#14C) 183.087
Mike Skinner (#4) 182.975
Terry Labonte (#5) 182.815
Robby Gordon (#31B) 182.793
Geoffrey Bodine (#09) 182.723
Sterling Marlin (#40) 182.589
Brett Bodine (#11) 182.630
Dale Jarrett (#88B) 181.925
Ken Schrader (#36M) 181.815
Kurt Busch (#97A) 181.756
Mark Martin (#6) 181.649
Dave Marcis (#71) 181.605
Dave Blaney (#77A) 181.141
Todd Bodine (#66) 180.897
Ricky Craven (#32B) 180.625
Buckshot Jones (#44B) 180.672
Joe Nemechek (#26) 178.948
Ward Burton, 183.748
Kenny Wallace, 183.486
Jimmie Johnson, 183.415
Jeff Gordon, 183.262
Bobby Hamilton, 183.139
Mike Skinner, 182.975
Terry Labonte, 182.815
Robby Gordon, 182.767
Brett Bodine, 182.630
Dale Earnhardt Jr, 182.604
Sterling Marlin, 182.589
Geoffrey Bodine, 181.932
Dale Jarrett, 181.807
Kurt Busch, 181.756
Dave Marcis, 181.605
Stacy Compton, 181.598
Mark Martin, 181.463
Dave Blaney, 180.890
Todd Bodine, 180.879
Buckshot Jones, 180.672
Ken Schrader, 180.542
Ricky Craven, 180.191
Joe Nemechek, 179.458
Jimmie Johnson, 183.816
Dale Earnhardt Jr, 183.475
Kenny Wallace, 182.756
Ward Burton, 182.689
Jeff Gordon, 182.608
Terry Labonte, 182.282
Geoffrey Bodine, 182.186
Sterling Marlin, 182.031
Dale Jarrett, 181.925
Stacy Compton, 181.877
Kenny Schrader, 181.815
Robby Gordon, 181.745
Bobby Hamilton, 181.620
Dave Marcis, 181.569
Mike Skinner, 181.488
Dave Blaney, 181.141
Brett Bodine, 181.065
Kurt Busch, 181.039
Todd Bodine, 180.897
Ricky Craven,180.625
Mark Martin, 180.466
Buckshot Jones, 180.448
Joe Nemechek, 178.582
Drivers tested two cars
Jimmie Johnson (#48A) 183.816
Dale Earnhardt Jr (#8) 183.475
Dale Earnhardt Jr (#8A) 182.908
Kenny Wallace (#1) 182.756
Ward Burton (#22A) 182.689
Jeff Gordon (#24A) 182.608
Terry Labonte (#5) 182.282
Geoffrey Bodine (#09) 182.186
Sterling Marlin (#40) 182.031
Dale Jarrett (#88A) 181.925
Stacy Compton (#14) 181.877
Ken Schrader (#36M) 181.815
Jeff Gordon (#24B) 181.789
Robby Gordon (#31B) 181.745
Robby Gordon (#31A) 181.704
Bobby Hamilton (#55A) 181.620
Dave Marcis (#71) 181.569
Sterling Marlin (#40X) 181.543
Mike Skinner (#4) 181.488
Dave Blaney (#77A) 181.141
Brett Bodine (#11) 181.065
Kurt Busch (#97A) 181.039
Terry Labonte (#5T) 181.028
Kenny Wallace (#1A) 180.955
Todd Bodine (#66) 180.897
Stacy Compton (#14C) 180.814
Dave Blaney (#77B) 180.629
Ricky Craven (#32B) 180.625
Mark Martin (#6) 180.466
Bobby Hamilton (#55B) 180.458
Buckshot Jones (#44A) 180.448
Dale Jarrett (#88B) 180.411
Ricky Craven (#32A) 179.853
Ward Burton (#22B) 179.730
Buckshot Jones (#44B) 179.361
Mike Skinner (#4A) 178.969
Todd Bodine (#66K) 178.848
Joe Nemechek (#26) 178.582
Mark Martin (#6A) 178.554
Joe Nemechek (#26K) 177.982
Kurt Busch (#97B) 177.954
Ken Schrader (#36) 177.592
Jimmie Johnson, Gordon's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, turned the fastest
lap of the day with an afternoon lap. The
primary car he tested was a new Chevrolet Monte
Carlo built last year for Jeff Gordon but was never raced. "As everybody knows this is the
result of a lot of hard work," Johnson said.
"I think the three Hendrick cars here today were in the top five.
We planned on testing a few times for Daytona so we could have a solid
qualifying lap so we could fall back on it."
Of note is that the highest Ford speed was posted by Geoffrey Bodine-- only
8th overall of the 23 drivers in the session.
Jimmie Johnson, 49.148 sec, 183.120 mph
Stacy Compton, 49.157, 183.087
Ward Burton, 49.163, 183.064
Robby Gordon, 49.236, 182.793
Terry Labonte, 49.255, 182.723
Jeff Gordon, 49.265, 182.685
Dale Earnhardt Jr, 49.277, 182.641
Geoffrey Bodine, 49.313, 182.508
Kenny Wallace, 49.449, 182.006
Sterling Marlin, 49.492, 181.848
Bobby Hamilton, 49.526,181.723
Dave Marcis, 49.572, 181.554
Ken Schrader, 49.683, 181.148
Kurt Busch, 49.832, 180.607
Mike Skinner, 49.894, 180.382
Ricky Craven, 49.903, 180.350
Buckshot Jones, 49.906, 180.339
Todd Bodine, 49.945, 180.198
Dale Jarrett, 50.026, 179.906
Dave Blaney, 50.064, 179.770
Mark Martin, 50.092, 179.669
Brett Bodine, 50.176, 179.369
Joe Nemechek, 50.195, 179.301
Session Comparison
The first speed listed is the top speed for the driver in the morning session
The second speed listed is the top speed for the driver in the afternoon session
Drivers are listed in alphabetical order
Brett Bodine - Ford - 179.369 - 179.655
Geoffrey Bodine - Ford - 180.245 - 182.508
Todd Bodine - Ford - 179.340 - 180.196
Ward Burton - Dodge - 183.064 - 181.943
Kurt Busch - Ford - 180.607 - 180.563
Stacy Compton - Pontiac - 183.087 -181.539
Ricky Craven - Ford - 178.003 - 180.350
Dale Earnhardt Jr - Chevrolet - 182.641 - 182.408
Jeff Gordon - Chevrolet - 182.046 - 182.685
Robby Gordon - Chevrolet - 180.992 - 182.793
Bobby Hamilton - Chevrolet - 180.476 - 181.723
Dale Jarrett - Ford - 178.239 - 179.906
Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet - 182.826 - 183.120
Buckshot Jones - Dodge - 179.605 - 180.339
Terry Labonte - Chevrolet - 182.723 - 182.330
Dave Marcis - Chevrolet - 181.167 - 181.554
Sterling Marlin - Dodge - 181.848 - 181.855
Mark Martin - Ford - 179.505 - 179.669
Joe Nemechek - Ford - 179.301 - 178.905
Ken Schrader - Pontiac - 180.534 -181.148
Mike Skinner - Chevrolet - 178.784 - 180.382
Kenny Wallace - Chevrolet - 182.006 - 181.503
Stacy Compton (#14C) 183.087
Ward Burton (#22A) 183.064
Jimmie Johnson (#48A) 182.826
Terry Labonte (#5) 182.723
Dale Earnhardt Jr (#8A) 182.641
Stacy Compton (#14) 182.120
Jeff Gordon (#24A) 182.046
Kenny Wallace (#1A) 182.006
Sterling Marlin (#40X) 181.848
Dale Earnhardt Jr (#8) 181.840
Sterling Marlin (#40) 181.327
Terry Labonte (#5T) 181.305
Jeff Gordon (#24B) 181.167
Dave Marcis (#71) 181.167
Robby Gordon (#31A) 180.992
Robby Gordon (#31B) 180.872
Kenny Wallace (#1) 180.647
Kurt Busch (#97A) 180.607
Ken Schrader (#36M) 180.534
Bobby Hamilton (#55A) 180.476
Geoffrey Bodine (#09) 180.245
Bobby Hamilton (#55B) 180.137
Dave Blaney (#77A) 179.770
Buckshot Jones (#44A) 179.605
Buckshot Jones (#44B) 179.591
Mark Martin (#6) 179.505
Jimmie Johnson (#48B) 179.394
Brett Bodine(#11) 179.369
Todd Bodine (#66) 179.340
Joe Nemechek (#26) 179.301
Ken Schrader (#36) 178.962
Ward Burton (#22B) 178.827
Mike Skinner (#4B) 178.784
Mike Skinner (#4A) 178.649
Mark Martin (#6A) 178.557
Dale Jarrett (#88B) 178.239
Ricky Craven (#32B) 178.003
Todd Bodine (#66K) 177.694
Joe Nemechek (#26K) 177.462
Kurt Busch (#97B) 177.399
Ricky Craven (#32A) 177.120
|
|
Copyright ©2002 Jeff Gordon Online. All rights reserved. Images ©2002 Jeff Gordon Online. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of U.S. copyright law |
