CUP: NASCAR Blog - Daytona Preseason Thunder

Three days - 21 hours - of preseason testing wrapped up Saturday afternoon at Daytona…

SPEED Staff | Posted January 12, 2013 Daytona Beach, FL

Martin Truex Jr. , driver of the No 56 Toyota, leads the field during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway on January 11, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo: Getty Images)

Welcome to 2013! Thursday through Saturday, SPEED and SPEED.com are covering live NASCAR Sprint Cup testing at Daytona International Speedway.

Daytona Preseason Thunder will be streamed live on SPEED.com from 9 a.m.-noon ET today, while SPEED’s live television coverage will run from 1-5 p.m. ET.

Please check back here for frequent updates.

[Saturday 5:15 pm ET]

SATURDAY AFTERNOON TESTING SPEEDS

1. Greg Biffle, Ford, 194.936
2. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 194.717
3. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 194.578
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 194.405
5. Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 194.158
6. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 194.083
7. Carl Edwards, Ford, 193.723
8. Tony Stewart , Chevrolet, 193.432
9. Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 193.428
10. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 193.063
11. Trevor Bayne, Ford, 193.013
12. Casey Mears, Ford, 192.201
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 192.193
14. Josh Wise, Ford, 190.295
15. Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 186.730

[Saturday 5:00 pm ET]

PRESEASON THUNDER OVER: The 21 Hours of Daytona is over. Three days of preseason Sprint Cup testing at Daytona International Speedway ended at 5 p.m. Saturday with Greg Biffle leading the final session with a speed of 194.936 miles per hour. Matt Kenseth was second.

[Saturday 4:15 pm ET]

KENSETH TALKS TESTING: Matt Kenseth is at Daytona with Joe Gibbs Racing

[Saturday 3:40 pm ET]

DAYTONA 500 WINNER DONE WITH TEST: The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team was among those that shut down testing midway through Saturday afternoon’s final session. Driver Trevor Bayne, winner of the Daytona 500 two years ago, had the week’s fastest speed at that point. Only a handful of drivers were on track with 75 minutes left in the session.

[Saturday 2:40 pm ET]

KYLE LEADS THE WAY: Halfway through Saturday afternoon’s final testing session, Kyle Busch leads the way in a limited group. Busch has a top lap at 194.578 mph. Second through fifth are Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. Fifteen drivers have clocked times in the afternoon.

[Saturday 2:30 pm ET]

No. 48 CREW CHIEF TALKS: Chad Knaus is interviewed at Daytona

[Saturday 2 pm ET]

NASCAR VP SPEAKS: Robin Pemberton’s take on three days of testing

[Saturday 1 pm ET]

NASCAR PLEASED WITH TEST: NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton pronounced the sanctioning body is pleased with three days of testing at Daytona. “We’re in the ballpark,” he said. “We know the teams will go back and bring a little better this and a little better that. We feel comfortable with that.” He said rules changes are not anticipated.

[Saturday 12:39 pm ET]

SHRUB STAYING PUT: Kyle Busch, expected to be a top target in the 2013 free agent class, apparently is off the market. Several media outlets are reporting that Busch has signed a multi-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing.

[Saturday 12:37 pm ET]

SATURDAY MORNING PRACTICE SPEEDS
1. Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 194.062
2. Trevor Bayne, Ford, 193.686
3. Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 193.648
4. Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 193.469
5. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 193.187
6. Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 193.079
7. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 192.831
8. Greg Biffle, Ford, 192.736
9. Kyle Busch, Toyota, 192.724
10. Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 192.649
11. Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 192.649
12. Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 192.555
13. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 192.029
14. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 191.980
15. Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 191.828
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 191.587
17. Carl Edwards, Ford, 191.579
18. Josh Wise, Ford, 190.416
19. Casey Mears, Ford, 190.247
20. Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 188.798
21. Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 186.401

[Saturday 12:20 pm ET]

HARVICK TALKS TESTING: Kevin Harvick says his team has stuck to a plan in testing.

[Saturday 11:45 am ET]

KENSETH ON TOP: There’s a new sheriff in town. Matt Kenseth jumped to the top of the morning session speed chart with a speed of 194.003, dropping Danica Patrick (193.648) to second. The first session ends at noon.

[Saturday 11:05 am ET]

EDWARDS SPEAKS: Carl Edwards weighs in during Saturday morning's test runs at Daytona.

[Saturday 10:35 am ET]

BURTON SAYS TESTING IMPORTANT: Jeff Burton is testing for a third straight day at Daytona and says he can't relate to those who aren't here. "To leave a day early, I don't understand how you can do that," Burton said Saturday. "There's too much you can test. You can work on Talladega." Burton said drafting will be a lot tougher with the new car. "It's a lot harder to push with this car," he said. "The shape of the noses (more rounded) makes it hard. But there's no huge advantage in pushing, anyway."

[Saturday 9:50 am ET]

WRECK REACTIONS: Drivers discuss Friday's 12-Car Wreck at Daytona International Speedway

[Saturday 9:45 am ET]

DANICA FAST: Forty-five minutes into Saturday morning’s testing session at Daytona, Danica Patrick has the top speed at 193.648 mph. Also in the top five – Paul Menard, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch. Twenty drivers have been on track.

[Saturday 8:48 am ET]

DAY THREE IS HERE, MANY TEAMS NOT: It’s Day Three of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway, and it’s likely to be a bit quieter here at the World Center of Racing. About half of the approximately 40 teams who showed up for the first day of testing Thursday are no longer on site, thanks largely to a 12-Car Wreck in Friday afternoon testing that damaged several cars. Most of the teams involved did not bring backups to the test sessions, so they headed home to North Carolina. Today’s final test sessions are scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon ET and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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