Junior debuts fast Busch car at RIR

RICHMOND, Va. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose NASCAR Winston Cup season is on a resurgence, showed he had lost none of his speed in a Busch Series car as he unofficially posted the fastest lap of a mixed group of 10 cars that tested the .750-mile oval.

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 36th in the Busch race at Lowe's in May.

Earnhardt tested the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet that he will drive on Friday night, Sept. 6 in the Funai 250 at RIR adorned with Warner Bros. cartoon characters. It will be his third Busch race this season, but his first in the car he co-owns with his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt.

The best lap reported in the car, which was crewed by a mixed group of employees that will work on the Busch team and some of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Winston Cup crewmen, was 21.60 seconds, 125 mph. That is about .15 seconds off Matt Kenseth's track record of 21.466 seconds.

Kevin Manion, who has been Steve Park's car chief on the No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet in the Winston Cup Series, will now only crew chief the Busch operation.

Joining Earnhardt at the test, which opened Monday and was expected to conclude Wednesday, but was rained out -- was DEI Winston Cup teammate Michael Waltrip, whose lap in 21.80 seconds; 123.853 mph was the best Winston Cup test lap.

Ward Burton set the RIR track record in Bud Pole Qualifying in May at 127.389 mph.

Also testing Winston Cup cars were two-time RIR winner Dale Jarrett, who reported a lap in about 22 seconds flat, 122.727 mph and home state hopeful Hermie Sadler of Emporia, Va.

Other Busch teams that tested included those of Todd Bodine, Mark Green, Steve Grissom, Shane Lockhart, Damon Lusk and Richard Mitchell. The fall Richmond Busch race typically has one of the largest entries of the season.

Among the interested observers of the test were Robert Yates Racing crew chief Michael McSwain and his 2003 driver, Elliott Sadler. There were no reports of whether or not Sadler made any laps in his 2003 teammate, Jarrett's car.