Johnson fastest on first day of testing

By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 8, 2002
6:05 PM EST (2305 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Jimmie Johnson Monday proved the faith four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon and his car owner Rick Hendrick have in him was justified by leading the first day of open testing at Daytona International Speedway for the Feb. 17 Daytona 500.

Stacy Compton

Johnson ended up the quickest of 23 drivers who tested 43 cars with a lap of the 2.5-mile trioval in 49.148 seconds, an average speed of 183.120 mph in the Chevrolet owned by Gordon and Hendrick.

For Compton’s part, it appears the changes made at A.J. Foyt Racing have the Texas legend’s Winston Cup Series team pointed in the right direction. Compton was fastest at the lunch break Monday and ended up second best with a lap of 49.157 seconds, 183.087 mph in his Pontiac.

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“To unload and be decent, we’re pretty happy,” said Compton, who qualified on the outside of the front row for last year’s 500 driving a Dodge for Melling Racing. “These guys built a good car and brought it here. If you run fast here it’s because you’ve got a really good car and a really good motor -- I think we’ve got a little of both.”

Ward Burton in a Dodge (183.064 mph), Robby Gordon in a Chevrolet (182.793) and Terry Labonte in a Chevrolet (182.723) rounded out the top-five.

With teams using a new aerodynamic and restrictor plate package, Johnson’s best lap was only .119 seconds slower than Bill Elliott’s Bud Pole lap for the 2001 Daytona 500. His lap was faster than the fastest posted on the first day a year ago, when Matt Kenseth was clocked at 49.377 / 182.271 in a Ford.

Nine Fords, nine Chevrolets, three Dodges and two Pontiacs tested Monday on the first pre-season test held at the track for mixed manufacturers. Geoffrey Bodine had the fastest Ford in eighth at 49.313 / 182.508.

Dale Jarrett's mount gets pushed into place.

“It’s awesome to be able to come down here and turn in such a strong time,” Johnson said. “This just shows how tough this whole Hendrick organization is, from the engine shop to the chassis shop to the body hangers -- they’ve all been working real hard on our qualifying package.”

“I told him that’s all great but he’s got to come back here in February and do it -- the pressure is on him,” Gordon said after clocking the sixth best time. He discounted the importance of anything seen either this week or next, when the other half of the Winston Cup field is scheduled to test. “I don’t think you can pay any attention to anything that is going on here.

“I don’t know who’s holding back or who’s showing what they’ve got. I think we have to figure out what this aero package has for us, so we’re just getting information. No one wants to incite NASCAR to make a rule change before February, so who knows?”

Geoffrey Bodine awaits his turn on the track.

“There’s a lot of things going on,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a new driver, a new sponsor and a new team so to come down here and have a test like this is great for our confidence. Now, we just have to come back and get a good starting spot for the race.”

Rounding out the top-five speeds in the morning session were Burton, Johnson, the resurgent Labonte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a Chevy (49.277/182.641). In the final rundown, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Bodine, Kenny Wallace and Sterling Marlin were in sixth through 10th.

Three-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Jarrett had two cars on hand, but ran only one in the morning and was 19th fastest on the combined morning and afternoon list, with a lap in 179.906 mph.

The crew of the No. 88 Ford checks under the hood.

With 20 of 23 teams running two cars, Compton also had the sixth quickest lap in the morning with his team’s second Grand Prix. The teams began testing the 43 cars they had on hand at 9:43 a.m. ET on a slightly overcast day with temperatures in the high 50s. In mid-afternoon the temperatures dipped into the low 50s but speeds didn’t rise on account of that.

One of the teams not on hand that was scheduled to be was the No. 29 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick. NASCAR will allow Harvick to test next Monday-Wednesday since he has to attend the NASCAR Busch Series banquet in California later this week.