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CUP: Testing Speeds Approach 200
Trevor Bayne tops speed chart; multi-car crash sends several teams home…
Multiple drivers are involved in the "big one" as cars get loose at the front of the pack.
Speeds approached 200 miles per hour Friday at Daytona International Speedway as Sprint Cup teams completed the second of three days of preseason testing.
But general praise for the new Gen-Six race car was dampened by a multi-car crash in the Friday afternoon session. Although there were no injuries, numerous cars were damaged in the backstretch crash, leading several teams to depart Daytona early.
In part because of limited parts availability, most teams have only one or two Daytona cars built, so some were reluctant to become involved in drafting sessions during testing.
Drafting did produce some high speeds, however. Ford driver and former Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne topped the Friday afternoon speed list with a speed of 199.650 miles per hour.
Six other drivers – Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – also topped 199.
Kyle Busch, whose Toyota received minor damage in the afternoon-session crash, said drafting with the new car will take some practice.
“The first time we went out, we had a pretty good pack side-by-side and everything,” Busch said. “There was some mixing around and some moving and passing. And then the next time we went out it seemed like there was a strong lane on the top and just four or five cars on the bottom, and the bottom wasn’t moving anywhere. It was actually going backward, and so everybody was working their way high, and I think some guys just got checked up, and that’s what caused the wreck.”
Contact between Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. near the front of the drafting pack caused the accident. Among the cars damaged were those of Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Regan Smith and Joey Logano.
“We were going around one and two,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I thought Marcos was backing up to me. I got off two trying to push him a little and had a hard time to get our bumpers lined up. It was the first time I pushed a Ford. We ended up getting turned.”
Ambrose said the design of the new cars, which makes bump-drafting more difficult, contributed to the crash.
“It was very easy to bump-draft with the old cars,” he said. “We’re used to that. I got a couple of shots from him (Earnhardt Jr.) down the backstretch. Just the third shot spun me out. It’s the consequences of the new shape.”
The mayhem provided a clear illustration of why many teams had been reluctant to participate in drafting during these tests. Most of the testing prior to Friday afternoon had been in single-car runs.
Among the drivers who avoided the crash was Jimmie Johnson, who was running along about a half-lap behind the crash. He had said drafting was not a part of his Daytona testing plans.
Testing is scheduled to continue with two sessions Saturday, although some of the participating teams left the speedway Friday because of damage to their cars.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
But general praise for the new Gen-Six race car was dampened by a multi-car crash in the Friday afternoon session. Although there were no injuries, numerous cars were damaged in the backstretch crash, leading several teams to depart Daytona early.
In part because of limited parts availability, most teams have only one or two Daytona cars built, so some were reluctant to become involved in drafting sessions during testing.
Drafting did produce some high speeds, however. Ford driver and former Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne topped the Friday afternoon speed list with a speed of 199.650 miles per hour.
Six other drivers – Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Aric Almirola and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – also topped 199.
Kyle Busch, whose Toyota received minor damage in the afternoon-session crash, said drafting with the new car will take some practice.
“The first time we went out, we had a pretty good pack side-by-side and everything,” Busch said. “There was some mixing around and some moving and passing. And then the next time we went out it seemed like there was a strong lane on the top and just four or five cars on the bottom, and the bottom wasn’t moving anywhere. It was actually going backward, and so everybody was working their way high, and I think some guys just got checked up, and that’s what caused the wreck.”
Contact between Marcos Ambrose and Dale Earnhardt Jr. near the front of the drafting pack caused the accident. Among the cars damaged were those of Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Regan Smith and Joey Logano.
“We were going around one and two,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I thought Marcos was backing up to me. I got off two trying to push him a little and had a hard time to get our bumpers lined up. It was the first time I pushed a Ford. We ended up getting turned.”
Ambrose said the design of the new cars, which makes bump-drafting more difficult, contributed to the crash.
“It was very easy to bump-draft with the old cars,” he said. “We’re used to that. I got a couple of shots from him (Earnhardt Jr.) down the backstretch. Just the third shot spun me out. It’s the consequences of the new shape.”
The mayhem provided a clear illustration of why many teams had been reluctant to participate in drafting during these tests. Most of the testing prior to Friday afternoon had been in single-car runs.
Among the drivers who avoided the crash was Jimmie Johnson, who was running along about a half-lap behind the crash. He had said drafting was not a part of his Daytona testing plans.
Testing is scheduled to continue with two sessions Saturday, although some of the participating teams left the speedway Friday because of damage to their cars.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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