Insider's View: Wally Dallenbach

Can the offseason really be just about over? It sure doesn't seem that long ago that Tony Stewart was celebrating his championship in Homestead. But Speedweeks at Daytona is just around the corner and teams are busy at work preparing for the new season.

	Wally Dallenbach

I'm going to try and give you in the inside scoop on what's going on in the NASCAR world every week. I'll offer my take on the hot issues of the day, plus we'll take a closer look at the upcoming weekend's race. I think this is going to be a phenomenal Winston Cup season and I'm eager to crank things up.

NASCAR's Preseason Thunder test session at Daytona is over and to be honest, there weren't many surprises. Daytona is probably the most frustrating place to test because for the driver, there isn't much to do. You basically go through the gears and get the car up to speed and that's about it. It's all engine and car; a driver can't do much to make up speed.

That said, Daytona testing is an incredibly busy time for teams because there are so many things to chance. Cars are so sensitive that what might seem like a little thing can actually mean a tenth of a second, which could translate into seven or eight positions. So testing gives teams an opportunity to tinker and adjust to try to find what will work best when they come back in February.

Everyone knows that when you race at a restrictor-plate track, you have to have help. There were a couple of drafting sessions during the test and that's probably a better indication of how your car is going to behave during Speedweeks.

When you're out there on your own in a test or even qualifying, it's an almost helpless feeling because your foot's mashed down on the accelerator and you're kind of just along for the ride. I've always contended that if you can even see someone ahead of you at Daytona or Talladega ? whether he's 100 or 200 feet away ? it's going to give you some kind of help.

I'm not so sure you're going to see the same guys at the front of the qualifying list that we're seeing in the test sessions. But it's good to see the No. 4 car back up there because they've had a lot of magic at Daytona over the years. Mike Skinner's a good speedway driver and Tony Furr, who was my crew chief when I drove the No. 25 Hendrick car, has a lot of experience at the big tracks. It will be interesting to see if they come back strong in 2003 with the switch over to Pontiac.

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Qualifying well at Daytona is vital because except for the front row. The Twin 125s determine the starting lineup for the 500. I think getting a time in the Top 20, so you can fall back on that time if you get screwed up in one of the twins, is extremely important. You can expect teams to lay it on the line when everyone comes back to Daytona in a couple weeks and do their best to give their driver the best chance to lay down a fast lap.

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