Daytona day 3: Mike Wallace fastest

The Chevrolet driver, who is trying to tie down a steady drive and help owner Andy Petree find sponsorship for his number 33 car, set a quickest lap of 184.302mph to head the time sheet from the Dodges of Bill Elliot and Jimmy Spencer in the afternoon drafts.

Wallace's mark was well below the overall fast time of the month, set by Ward Burton's Dodge last week at 184.961mph. It was, however, the third-fastest drafting lap of the month, with brother Kenny Wallace second at 184.502mph last week.

Bobby Labonte's Pontiac finished fourth quickest on the time sheet and Matt Kenseth led the Ford camp with a lap of 184.185mph which put him fifth on the cumulative chart ahead of fellow Ford drivers Sadler, Cope and Rusty Wallace. Kenseth's effort meant that for the first time during the three-day test, all manufacturers were in the top five.

In the solo runs, however, the Fords again seemed to struggle. Andy Hillenburg, subbing in Ricky Rudd's number 28, could only manage the 13th fastest in the morning with a mark of 181.196mph.

"There's no doubt in our mind that we're gonna have to have something," said Ford's Rusty Wallace. "Right now, there's no way I can do anything to catch the Dodge or the Chevrolet. I know we've worked just as hard as anybody in this garage area trying to get what we've got, so we'll see what NASCAR is gonna do for us."

Defending Daytona 500 champ Michael Waltrip had the best lap of the day in single-car testing, turning a lap of 183.255mph - sixth-best overall in the combined sessions.

Thursday's session marked the final day of testing for the second group of Winston Cup Series teams.


Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 184.302mph
Bill Elliott, Dodge, 184.296mph
Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 184.222mph
Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 184.207mph
Matt Kenseth, Ford, 184.185mph
Elliott Sadler, Ford, 184.132mph
Derrike Cope, Ford, 184.117mph
Rusty Wallace, Ford, 183.673mph
Kenny Brack, Dodge, 183.617mph
Jeff Burton, Ford, 183.580mph