Daytona Dodge test, day 2: Much work to do…

The NASCAR Winston Cup new boys best times were still 1.5mph off the benchmark pace set by the Ford Taurus of Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth - a lifetime in the ultra-close world of Winston Cup - and will now attempt to find solutions at Talladega, less than a fortnight before Daytona 500 qualifying begins on February 10.

Melling Racing's Stacy Compton was fastest of the 10 drivers present, but could only post a speed of 180.821mph on the 2.5-mile Florida tri-oval , compared to Kenseth's 182.271mph best set last week. On accumulated times, the fastest Intrepid was only 14th on the sheets - and that isn't taking into account the claims that Ford and GM's Chevrolet and Pontiac teams all deliberately sand-bagged during their official tests.

With Dodge still playing catch-up on the eve of its NASCAR return, the marque did not put any work into drafting - an essential element of racing on superspeedways. Ford's top multi-car draft speeds topped the 187mph mark, with GM hitting 185mph and keeping more in reserve.

Dodge teams say the car is in the ballpark in its power figures, but lacks downforce and development. Project leader Ray Evernham believes that the Talladega test and a re-think based on the Daytona test results will bring the gap down.

"We've got to pick up," he said. "We've got work to do and we're going to do it. Like I said yesterday, I've left Daytona before half a second behind. We just have more work to do."

Bill Davis Racing posted the second and third fastest times, with Dave Blaney just pipping Greg Sacks, who stood in for a sinus-effected Ward Burton. Day one pacesetter Bill Elliott was fourth.

Dodge's Talladega test begins on January 30 and could prove make-or-break. Although NASCAR frequently tweaks the aerodynamics of the various brands to maintain parity, NASCAR insiders say it is loathe to make any tweaks to the Intrepid until it reaches a known level of development.


1 Stacy Compton (Melling Racing) 180.821mph, 49.773s
2 Dave Blaney (Bill Davis) 180.603mph, 49.833s
3 Greg Sacks (Bill Davis) 180.451mph, 49.875s
4 Bill Elliott (Evernham) 179.928mph, 50.020s
5 John Andretti (Petty Enterprises) 179.376mph, 50.174s
6 Sterling Marlin (Ganassi Racing) 179.333mph, 50.186s