On Saturday NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers wrapped up the three-day test with two-car drafting practice at Daytona International Speedway.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, were the fastest, running in tandem and exchanging spots, with speeds over 197 mph despite the smaller restrictor plate that NASCAR ordered.
"I feel like we’ve got a decent speed," said Logano, who had the morning’s fastest lap (197.516 mph, 45.566 seconds). "Usually in single-car runs we were probably a 15th-place car, but I feel like we’re a top-five car in single-car runs right now. That’s exciting to know."
Numerous teams opted for two-car drafting, including Stewart-Haas Racing and Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski.
Surprisingly, despite the increased level of grip on the newly repaved high-banked 2.5 mile superspeedway, there were was an absence of huge multi-car “freight trains of numerous stock cars.
“Obviously the guys are working on the tandem deal knowing that’s faster than the draft. Everybody’s working on a little different agenda, and it’s all trying to find that edge to win the Daytona 500,” explained John Darby, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Competition.
NASCAR officials feel optimistic about the new paving, the switch to E15 fuel and the new nose configuration. And, apparently so did the Cup teams.
“I think this test has done more in building confidence. There’s always some anxiety around what happens when a track repaves,” John Darby said.
He added: "All it has done is amplify the beautiful job they have done on resurfacing Daytona International Speedway. The grip is at an all-time high, the drivers are comfortable – that’s why you see a lot of the stuff on the race track, because they are comfortable in the cars. Sometimes there’s a fine line between comfortable and cocky but that’s what makes the race exciting. That’s one of the things that’ll make this Daytona 500, I think, different than any one I’ve been able to watch."
Past Cup champion Kurt Busch agrees, "It’s gonna be one heck of a Daytona."
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, were the fastest, running in tandem and exchanging spots, with speeds over 197 mph despite the smaller restrictor plate that NASCAR ordered.
"I feel like we’ve got a decent speed," said Logano, who had the morning’s fastest lap (197.516 mph, 45.566 seconds). "Usually in single-car runs we were probably a 15th-place car, but I feel like we’re a top-five car in single-car runs right now. That’s exciting to know."
Numerous teams opted for two-car drafting, including Stewart-Haas Racing and Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski.
Surprisingly, despite the increased level of grip on the newly repaved high-banked 2.5 mile superspeedway, there were was an absence of huge multi-car “freight trains of numerous stock cars.
“Obviously the guys are working on the tandem deal knowing that’s faster than the draft. Everybody’s working on a little different agenda, and it’s all trying to find that edge to win the Daytona 500,” explained John Darby, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Competition.
NASCAR officials feel optimistic about the new paving, the switch to E15 fuel and the new nose configuration. And, apparently so did the Cup teams.
“I think this test has done more in building confidence. There’s always some anxiety around what happens when a track repaves,” John Darby said.
He added: "All it has done is amplify the beautiful job they have done on resurfacing Daytona International Speedway. The grip is at an all-time high, the drivers are comfortable – that’s why you see a lot of the stuff on the race track, because they are comfortable in the cars. Sometimes there’s a fine line between comfortable and cocky but that’s what makes the race exciting. That’s one of the things that’ll make this Daytona 500, I think, different than any one I’ve been able to watch."
Past Cup champion Kurt Busch agrees, "It’s gonna be one heck of a Daytona."