Scott Riggs was the fastest Dodge on Monday morning. Credit: Autostock

Chevys again pace field at Daytona testing

Kyle Busch continues Hendrick dominance of Preseason Thunder

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Round 2 of Daytona 500 preseason testing got under way at Daytona on Monday morning, with Hendrick Motorsports picking right up where it left off last week.

	Kyle Busch Monday morning session Pos. Car Speed 1 5 186.629 22 5a 184.885

The session was the first of six this week for the Nextel Cup cars. A total of 30 drivers are participating, up from 20 from last week.

Kyle Busch was fastest in the morning session on Monday with a speed of 186.629 mph. Sterling Marlin was right behind him at 186.598 mph.

Cars powered by Hendrick engines posted six of the top-10 speeds.

Marlin's teammate, Joe Nemechek, was sixth-quickest during the session. MB2 Motorsports usually arrives at Daytona with a solid restrictor-plate package, and Bill Elliott led last week's session in a third MB2 car.

Scott Riggs' No. 10 Dodge was the lone Dodge to crack the top 10. Riggs, who finished fourth in the Daytona 500 last year, will be under the gun to produce a fast car because his new team doesn't have owners points to fall back on early in the season.

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"For us, we need to be as strong as we can possible be. We need to get in the race and make the show," said Riggs, who moved to Evernham Motorsports' new third team after the 2005 season. "I feel good about it. The guys in the shop did a good job at getting the most we can. We have definitely improved the cars for superspeedway races this year."

Jamie McMurray was the fastest Ford Fusion in the opening session. McMurray got into the No. 26 Roush Racing Ford for the first time on Monday morning, officially completing an exodus from Chip Ganassi Racing, where he won just once in 114 tries.

McMurray's defection from Ganassi was one of the biggest stories of the 2005 season, and he joins a team that won 15 of 36 races last year.

The team switched from the No. 97 to the No. 26 over the offseason, and McMurray tested his new ride last week at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla.

Roush Racing brought an old chassis for McMurray to test at Daytona. Instead of building a new car, the team is using the same car Kurt Busch drove to Daytona 500 runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2005.

"Its an old car that always seems to run well," McMurray said. "We ran both cars this morning. The other drug real bad."

Brian Vickers was supposed to test the No. 25 Chevrolet, but he was scheduled to have outpatient hernia surgery on Monday.

David Green will handle the testing for all three days, and he was eighth-best in the opening session. Vickers is expected to recover in time for the critical Las Vegas test in two weeks.