 | | Jeff Gordon's 2006 began last season with the naming of Steve Letarte as crew chief. Credit: Autostock |
NASCAR.COM
February 18, 2006
11:56 AM EST (16:56 GMT)
OK boys, it's time to stop yappin' and time to start lappin'. Everything that possibly could have been said in the weeks leading up to Sunday's 48th running of the Daytona 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, NBC) has been said -- from Preseason Thunder to the Gatorade Duels -- and now it's time to put the all the preseason tests to the ultimate test.  | 
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With every new season brings renewed optimism, and several teams are excited about the possibilities for 2006. • Jeff Gordon is ready to put the disappointment of not making the Chase in 2005 behind him. He'll start the 500 on the outside of the front row and won the second Gatorade Duels qualifier Thursday. • Robert Yates Racing has been fast in the preseason. Elliott Sadler will start third after winning the first Gatorade Duels qualifier; Dale Jarrett had the third-fastest time in qualifying. • Richard Childress Racing made wholesale changes in the offseason, and thus far the results have been good: Jeff Burton will start the 500 on the pole. • Petty Enterprises hired three former Cup champions in Robbie Loomis, Todd Parrott and driver Bobby Labonte, who instantly gives the No. 43 a face again. Despite opening 2005 by winning the Daytona 500 and three of the first nine races, Gordon slumped in the second half of the season and finished outside the top 10 in points for the first time since his rookie year in 1993. "Sometimes it takes some beatings before you really get things turned around," said Gordon, who begins his first full year with crew chief Steve Letarte. "It puts you in a position to make changes and be humbled and really want it that much more. I would say right now we're as hungry and fired up as we've ever been. "We've got youthfulness and excitement back in the team and it's all about chemistry. We've been talking about chemistry since we missed the Chase last year. And I'm seeing that chemistry back." Sadler and Jarrett are driving the new Fusions as Ford made the switch from the Taurus. Sadler likes the change. "It's not a night and day difference, but it's just a little bit. In NASCAR racing, the competition is so close, if you can get your car a little bit better, that's the difference in winning a race and running 20th," Sadler said. "Ford did a tremendous job of putting this car in the wind tunnel, taking it through its paces before they gave it to the team." Sadler also has a new crew chief in Tommy Baldwin Jr., who won the Daytona 500 in 2002 sitting atop Ward Burton's box. Richard Childress has had a lot of success at Daytona with 20 victories and 10 poles, but not recently. The last RCR victory at Daytona was Dale Earnhardt's 500 triumph in 1998; the last pole came in 2003. "We had a lot of positive changes at RCR ... everybody has worked so hard," Childress said. "It's really great to see RCR back up front. We've won a lot of poles [at Daytona] and been up front a lot. We're just excited to be here. "Every race is important. We want to come here and win the Daytona 500 ... winning the pole was a big plus.'' Burton cited a lack of preparation as a reason for the team's dismal performance in '05. "There are a lot of obstacles that stand in the way of success and we've got to make sure we step on top of those and work real hard," Burton said. "But I think we've made huge strides in the right direction. "This is just one qualifying run out of a long year. I think we have things in place to make a lot of noise. I think we have great race teams and drivers and some of the best people in the business. We'll see what we can do with it." Things haven't been this upbeat in the Petty camp since the days of King Richard, who holds the record for most Daytona 500 victories with seven. No. 43 crew chief Parrott was the crew chief for both of Jarrett's 500 victories while Loomis, now the executive vice president of race operations at Petty Enterprises, was crew chief on two of Jeff Gordon's victories at Daytona, including last year's 500. "When we looked at it, we'd made very little progress the last four or five years and we just weren't going in the right direction," team CEO Kyle Petty said. "We really had to go outside our circle. When we hired Robbie that was huge, and then when we hired Bobby -- that was even bigger. Then when Todd came, that was just icing on the cake. "Along with those three guys came a multitude of other guys -- new shock guys, new guys for the pit crew, new guys that work at the shop that wanted to be a part of working with Robbie Loomis and Bobby Labonte and Todd Parrott. "Well, anything can happen at Daytona, but take Daytona out of the equation. I'm looking at 36 races, a full season. Can we get stronger? Can we get better? Can we grow? Yeah, that will happen, but we've got to temper our guys and say, 'Yeah, it will happen.' We've just got to bide our time and we've got to wait for it.'' Labonte has never visited Victory Lane at Daytona. The No. 43 hasn't been there since Petty won the Firecracker 400 in 1984. "Obviously that's a number that's got a lot of history behind it," Labonte said. "To be a part of it is great. It looks great driving it. It looks great being there. It'd look a lot better in Victory Lane. That will mean a whole lot more. "If we can go out there and be competitive with it and make sure Richard is proud of it, then I think that will be great." | 
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