DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. (January 16)- - Jeff Gordon tested at Daytona International Speedway on January 14-16 in preparation for the season-opening Daytona 500. "I'm excited about this season," Gordon said. "So many little things hurt us at times last year, but those are things that are relatively easy to fix." After building a new speedway car with the 2003 Monte Carlo body style, time in the wind tunnel was essential. Gordon's teammate Jimmie Johnson tested at Daytona on January 7-8 but failed to produce a lap that would be competitive for the pole position. Four hours into that first test session, Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus knew they were behind the 8-ball. Knaus called Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte suggesting that the bodies on the cars be re-adjusted. "We took a lot from Jimmie's test," Gordon said. "They made suggestions and we tried to make changes. We had concerns and tried to incorporate them here." As was the case with his teammate, Gordon also struggled in the speed department during the first two days of Daytona testing. DuPont team crew chief Robbie Loomis will confer with Knaus on whether the teams can be competitive for the victory at Daytona. If additional changes are needed, a Talladega test session later in the month would likely be scheduled. Since Gordon and Johnson will also test at Las Vegas in late January, a Talladega test would force the team to burn three of its five allotted test dates before the season officially begins.

+Thursday AM speeds | +Thursday PM speeds
+Wednesday AM speeds | +Wednesday PM speeds
+Tuesday AM speeds | +Tuesday PM speeds

Daytona Testing Photos:
+Car 24A waits on pit road | +Robbie Loomis and Jeff Gordon
+Jeff chats with the media

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