Toyota has made a turn in the right direction. After having a strong showing in the first testing session at Daytona last week, Toyota has dominated the speed charts in the first three sessions of the second week, with only Dale Earnhardt Jr. consistently being shown a the top of the speed charts. The second week of testing also provides a formal introduction to Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a new team. Being one of the most popular drivers in auto racing, Earnhardt Jr. has a lot to prove with his new team. But, the real story is, with Toyota dominating testing at Daytona, one can only wonder if there is a new force to be reckoned with in NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing.
The first day in the second week of Sprint Cup testing saw two Toyotas at the top of the speed charts. Dale Jarret and Dave Blaney, respectively, led the first two sessions on Monday with Jarret posting a best time of 48.652 seconds an Blaney posting a 48.532 second lap. In both those sessions, Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted the second fastest speed with a 48.742 second lap in the first session and a 48.537 lap in the second session. In the Tuesday morning session, Earnhardt Jr. produced the best time of 48.434 seconds with Michael Waltrip right behind him, posting a 48.555 second lap.
The only Dodge that managed to break into the top 10 was recent open wheel defector, Dario Franchitti who posted a 48.832 second lap in the Monday morning testing session. Franchitti appears to be a strong driver who will likely become Chip Ganassi Racing's flagship team if Franchitti performs this well during the season. In a season where Toyotas were not expected to do much, it appears that they are going to be the early favorites in the Daytona 500. The closest any other Dodge came to breaking the top 10 was Ryan Newman in the afternoon testing session on Monday posting a 49.027 second lap which was good for 15th best time in that session.
Ford and Chevy have been virtually quiet during the testing sessions at Daytona. The best speed and Ford team managed to show was a 48.957 second lap by David Gilliland during the afternoon session on Monday. The Ford and Chevy teams, however, may not be pushing their cars to the limit, so it is possible that they will have a strong showing during the second half of this week's testing sessions. Also, data with data sharing occurring within organizations and between teams, it is possible that the Chevy and Ford teams were holding back and working on refining other aspects of their cars.
The story, though, that everyone has been following comes with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his new team. Earnhardt Jr. posted second fastest in both sessions on Monday, and managed to get the fastest speed in the Tuesday morning session. When asked about his frame of mind now that he doesn't have to worry about his contract, Earnhardt Jr. stated that "there's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas." Without having to worry about anything else, Earnhardt Jr. will be able to devote all his attention to racing and making himself a better driver.
The real test will occur when NASCAR allows drafting during the testing session. As Mark Martin indicated last week during testing, this is where the most useful data comes from. Drivers will also likely drive the cars harder during the testing session with drafting. All this testing, though, is meaningless until the outcome of the Daytona 500.
