Testing boring for drivers, crucial for teams

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Daytona 500 is less than a month away, but even after two weeks of testing, do we know who the favorites are going to be?

Ricky Rudd topped the NASCAR Preseason Thunder speed chart, posting a lap of 188.470 mph during the second three-day session at Daytona International Speedway.

	Ricky Rudd posted the fastest time of the entire two-week event. Credit: Motorsports Images and Archive

That makes Rudd one of the favorites for the pole when the teams return to Florida for Speedweeks next month, but nothing is certain in NASCAR.

"I can speak for myself and say I'd much rather be at the top of the sheet than at the bottom of the sheet," Rudd said with a smile. "We've been at the bottom of the sheet enough. It excites me to come into Daytona. You come here to do good. You come here to learn and get better. We came here and unloaded fast and we got faster. I'm excited about it.

"What does this mean for a pole contender or 500 winner? It doesn't necessarily mean you have the pole wrapped up by any means, but if we come back with the same things we have, we can be a contender for the pole or we can at least have a shot at a top 10 in speed, which is basically insurance for the Daytona 500.

"That's why we're here - to try to race and try to win. I get excited about running fast, so I guess we won (this day). It didn't pay anything, but it's still nice to do it."

Most of the fast speeds in testing were posted during the second session, when conditions were generally better -- low wind, decent temperatures. Eight of the top 10 speeds were set in the second week.

John Andretti was the only other driver to top 188 mph, going 188.198 in his Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet. Andretti ended up the fastest of the DEI cars, a bit of an accomplishment considering Michael Waltrip led every single-car session in the first week.

Ken Schrader was third in the BAM Racing Dodge at 187.793, with Waltrip tied for fourth with Jimmie Johnson at 187.731. Sixth through 10th were Elliott Sadler, Sterling Marlin, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and Dale Jarrett. Jarrett was the other driver who was in the top 10 from the first session.

	John Andretti was one of only two drivers to crack 188 mph during Preseason Thunder. Credit: Motorsports Images and Archive

Nearly all of the two three-day tests were spent on single-car runs, with only a final-day two-hour drafting practice thrown in. That can get pretty monotonous for drivers, but engineers love it.

"You could spend a month here and try things," Mears said. "It's kind of a never-ending process. But three days is plenty, that's for sure."

Mears said his Chip Ganassi Racing team learned a lot, and his team has improved its restrictor-plate cars from last year. Once in Daytona, his No. 41 crew came with a list of things to try, and they picked up speed little by little.

But can they repeat it when they come back? The top 10 fastest guys are probably going to be fast during Speedweeks, but someone outside the top 10 can still win the pole for the 500.

"As far as qualifying goes, (testing) doesn't really mean a whole lot because guys aren't doing everything they're going to do in qualifying," Mears said. "Drafting practice definitely means something. It means you are probably going to be two- or three-tenths faster than you would have been if you didn't come here because everybody finds something."

There are drawbacks to being fast, too.

	Jimmie Johnson said sandbagging doesn't really benefit his team. Credit: Motorsports Images and Archive.

"In some ways it's good, in some ways it's bad," said Johnson, whose best speed was posted in a car that later wrecked. "We're showing our hand. NASCAR's going to be looking really hard at our cars when we come back. But the guys have worked so hard, and you want to see what your car has.

"Sandbagging has never helped us out. It's always hurt us. It'll definitely be a good shot in the arm for everyone. Everybody has worked really hard over the winter. To leave here knowing that we're going to be in the top 10 when we come back is really important for us."

With the proliferation of computer simulation and wind-tunnel tests, it would seem that on-track testing is merely an extension of virtual testing. But computers can't always match what happens on the track. And driver feel is sometimes more important than simple engineering.

For some teams, though, the only way to get faster has nothing to do with January testing.

"We've done so much work right now," said Rusty Wallace, who was 15th-fastest. "I don't think we can make the bodies run any faster. We've done all kind of stuff there. Aerodynamically I think we're as good as we're going to get.

"What fixes these cars right up is more horsepower under the hood when we get back, so I think the engine shop will probably have about 10 more horsepower when we come back; they generally do."

Besides trying to find speed and learning about their cars, drivers and crews find testing important for more subtle reasons. While drivers can sometimes look like zombies during testing, being together for three days can build camaraderie.

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"Well, you have to make it interesting I guess," said Bobby Labonte, who was 29th-fastest. "It is the start of a new year for us, and it is a little monotonous to go out there and run for two laps or three laps and maybe not pick up any speed or maybe pick up speed. So as far as the driver is concerned, it's not that exciting.

"But it does give our team an opportunity to come down here and learn a few things and get our program started for the new season. That's part of it too -- not just the speed of today, but to get everybody together in the group to mesh and to communicate real good. It's not a race time, but it's a time for us to do that."

And it can be quite important for some teams, especially new teams or teams that made a lot of changes.

"It was real big for our team in particular because we have a lot of new guys," Mears said. "We have two guys that came back from last year."

So while testing is that -- just testing -- it can reap some benefits.

Then again, maybe it doesn't mean that much.

"How many times at Daytona has the pole winner won the race?" Ryan Newman said. "Going faster isn't always the answer. It's not the answer when it comes to winning the race, and winning the race awards the points. I don't think poles are going to earn any points this year."