Testing At Daytona

Testing At Daytona - 2006

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.- - Jeff Gordon took to the track at Daytona International Speedway for pre-season testing in preparation for February's season-opening Daytona 500. Gordon is the defending champion of the event, having scored the victory last year with a dramatic pass on Dale Earnhardt Jr with 2 laps to go. Overall, he's won the event three times in his career. The Chevrolet has a new nose and rear for 2006, so track time is necessary to sort out the off-season changes.

JG Audio: Off-season changes | Motivation for 2006

-January 11
-January 10
-January 9

Day 2 photos: Interview | Autographs | Waiting around | Pacing the field

Daytona FanFest photos: On stage | Meet & greet

Day 3 photos: In-line | Pulling Jimmie | Behind Elliott
Outside line | Leading the way

Wednesday, January 11

The final day of testing saw the drivers engage in drafting practice. The multi-car packs that have become commonplace at Daytona and Talladega allowed the drivers to assess their cars in race conditions. Car #24B paced the field with a lap over 189 miles per hour in the afternoon drafting session. Game on.

Wednesday Afternoon Speeds
#24b, Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 47.544 sec, 189.298 mph
#48b, Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 47.570, 189.195
#17b, Matt Kenseth, Ford, 47.613, 189.024
#40x, David Stremme, Dodge, 47.619, 189.000
#1a, Martin Truex Jr, Chevrolet, 47.704, 188.663
#80b, Jeff Fuller, Chevrolet, 47.764, 188.426
#12b, Ryan Newman, Dodge, 47.814, 188.229
#8a, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 47.816, 188.222
#31x, Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 47.846, 188.103
#20a, Mike Mclaughlin, Chevrolet, 47.865, 188.029
#43b, Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 47.897, 187.903
#9b, Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 47.920, 187.813
#12a, Ryan Newman, Dodge, 47.926, 187.790
#31, Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 47.933, 187.762

Wednesday Morning Speeds
#17a, Matt Kenseth, Ford, 47.770 sec, 188.403 mph
#38a, Elliott Sadler, Ford, 47.962, 187.649
#12a, Ryan Newman, Dodge, 47.965, 187.637
#17b, Matt Kenseth, Ford, 47.997, 187.512
#41x, Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 48.003, 187.488
#21b, Ken Schrader, Ford, 48.015, 187.441
#40x, David Stremme, Dodge, 48.025, 187.402
#9a, Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 48.034, 187.367
#19a, Jeremy Mayfield Dodge, 48.056, 187.282
#24b, Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 48.064, 187.250
#48b, Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 48.100, 187.110

Tuesday, January 10

The second day of testing contained a virtual repeat of the opening day. Drivers made mock qualifying runs while avoiding the large drafting packs that are commonplace on the restrictor plate tracks. However, there is a drafting session scheduled for Wednesday. That's when Hendrick Motorsports will truly find out what they've got.

Tuesday Afternoon Speeds
#24, Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 47.754, 188.466
#36a,Bill Elliott, Chevrolet, 47.866, 188.025
#38a, Elliott Sadler, Ford, 47.976 187.594
#48, Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 47.979 187.582
#17a, Matt Kenseth, Ford, 48.133, 186.982
#38b, Elliott Sadler, Ford, 48.140, 186.955
#20a, Mike Mclaughlin, Chevrolet, 48.228, 186.614
#19a, Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 48.252, 186.521
#43a, Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 48.369, 186.070
#31, Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 48.404, 185.935
#36b, Bill Elliott, Chevrolet, 48.490, 185.605

Tuesday Morning Speeds
#48, Jimmie Johnson Chev 48.137 186.966
#24, Jeff Gordon Chev 48.197 186.734
#20a, Mike Mclaughlin Chev 48.288 186.382
#36a, Bill Elliott Chev 48.290 186.374
#43a, Bobby Labonte Dodg 48.375 186.047
#36b, Bill Elliott Chev 48.445 185.778
#80b, Jeff Fuller Chev 48.462 185.713
#80a, Jeff Fuller Chev 48.488 185.613
#38a, Elliott Sadler Ford 48.509 185.533
#38b, Elliott Sadler Ford 48.519 185.494
#8a, Dale Earnhardt Jr Chev 48.551 185.372
#19a, Jeremy Mayfield Dodg 48.560 185.338
#31, Jeff Burton Chev 48.587 185.235
#20b, Mike Mclaughlin Chev 48.592 185.216
#17b, Matt Kenseth Ford 48.624 185.094

Monday, January 9

Jeff Gordon took to the track shortly after 9am in a primered black Chevrolet with orange flames. To say the car looks sharp would be an understatement. Gordon turned the fastest lap in the morning session with a fast lap of 187.02 miles per hour, just two-hundredths of a second quicker than his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. In the afternoon session, Bill Elliott climbed to the top of the speed chart with a fast lap of 187.21. Gordon's morning lap was tied for the second-fastest lap of the day after Johnson equaled the lap in the afternoon session.

Monday Afternoon Speeds
Bill Elliott, Chevrolet, 187.219 mph
Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 187.029
Elliott Sadler, Ford, 186.908
Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 186.648
Matt Kenseth, Ford, 185.801
Mike McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 185.713
Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 185.376
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 185.159
Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 184.923
Jeff Fuller, Chevrolet, 184.904

Monday Morning Speeds
#24 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 48.121 sec, 187.029 mph
#48 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 48.147, 186.928
#36a Bill Elliott, Chevrolet, 48.252, 186.521
#17a Matt Kenseth, Ford, 48.381, 186.023
#38a Elliott Sadler, Ford, 48.382, 186.020
#20a Mike Mclaughlin, Chevrolet, 48.406, 185.927
# 8a Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 48.484, 185.628
#36b Bill Elliott, Chevrolet, 48.570, 185.300
#8b Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 48.614, 185.132
#4 Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 48.630, 185.071

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