Multi-car wreck throws wrench into Daytona test

The multi-car wreck, which occurred almost an hour into the four-hour afternoon session, was triggered by contact between Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the front of the pack. By the time the smoke and dirt cleared on the backstretch, 10 cars were headed to the garage.

The cars of Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Regan Smith, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were the others involved.

The wreck temporarily halted the first major drafting sessions of the 2013 season on the 2.5-mile track. Biffle was one of several drivers to find the new car a handful in traffic, saving his car from a near spin at the exit of turn four earlier in the session.

With rear deck lids in short supply and no backup cars available for teams other than Edwards' Roush Fenway Racing outfit, the wreck effectively ended testing for most drivers involved.

"I didn't see anything," said Keselowski who was near the front of the pack when the wreck occurred. "I saw cars smoking and wrecked in front of me. I think I ran into the back of the 43 (Almirola), and someone ran into the back of me. That's just the way this deal is. It's unfortunate, but sometimes you've got to wreck 'em to learn."

For those, including Earnhardt, who test sessions didn't end with the wreck, there won't be any more pack drafting when drivers return on Saturday.
 
"We'll go back to single-car runs," Earnhardt said. "I don't think anybody wants any more drafting after that. So we'll just go back to running single-car runs. We're probably going to be here till 5 o'clock tomorrow working on our cars. We've got to find a little more speed."

In the morning session, Jeff Burton surged to the top of the Day 2 testing leaderboard in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS, clocking a lap of 194.805 mph. He was followed closely on the speed list by Childress teammates Kevin Harvick (193.557) and Paul Menard, who ranked fourth-fastest at 192.963.

Defending Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth, who topped Thursday's opening session, was third-fastest early Friday at 193.121 mph in the fastest Toyota. Biffle ranked fifth overall on the speed chart with the fastest Ford at 192.719.

The first session was interrupted by two caution flags, including the first crash of the sixth-generation car. Dave Blaney smacked the outside wall on the exit of turn 2, damaging the right side of the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevy. Blaney was uninjured, but the incident brought an end to testing for the single-car team. The other caution flew for debris.

The three-day test concludes Saturday with seven more hours of on-track activity scheduled.

Contributing: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service