Kahne on top as Daytona test ends

The second group of Sprint Cup teams tested all day non-stop until 4 pm, finishing their running one hour ahead of the normal schedule due to weather forecasts showing a high chance of rain for the afternoon.

Kahne was the only man able to break a 189 mph average in the two weeks of testing at Daytona, setting a lap of 47.591 seconds, at an average speed of 189.111 mph, driving the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

"I was kind of excited to get in the car with Budweiser on it," Kahne said. "It's 2008, we're able to have a good test, we learned a lot, went fast at times. I feel it's a good starting point."

Joe Gibbs Racing cars ended as the second and third fastest of the whole test, with Kyle Busch ranking ahead of his new teammate Denny Hamlin, who set the second fastest lap of the final day in the draft.

"The changes that we've made have made the car faster in the hot weather and the cold weather," Hamlin said of testing in the cooler temperatures of this week. "The biggest thing for us is to get the chemistry right on the race track together.

"Kyle (Busch) and I drafted a lot together the last couple of plate races. Now being teammates, I'll be able to help him out a little bit more. I'm really excited about this Daytona 500."

Dario Franchitti ended an encouraging fourth fastest overall, setting his fastest lap like Hamlin and Kahne in the final day of testing. The Scot was clearly the fastest Dodge runner all week, and obviously best among the rookie class.

Most of the top ten overall speeds of the whole test were achieved on Wednesday and only two of the top-ten laps were set last week. Track conditions and especially the temperatures allowed the second group of drivers to go faster than the first group.

Hotter conditions even caused some concerns last week as many drivers complained of tyre blistering in the first few sessions. The issue caught some drivers out but did not cause any major incidents.

Regan Smith, driving the No. 01 machine for DEI was the fastest among the Chevy drivers, ending the test as fifth fastest overall, while Matt Kenseth was quickest among the Ford runners with his best lap from the final drafting session of the first week of running.

Nationwide Series teams will now take over the action at Daytona with their pre-season testing starting on Friday.

Sprint Cup outfits will be back at the 2.5-mile oval for the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 Pole qualifying on February 9 and 10 respectively.