After Mother Nature cancelled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series preseason testing Thursday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, the teams were greeted with a similar fate on Friday morning, but eventually the skies cleared and Greg Biffle was the first car on the track for this new NASCAR season shortly before 1:00 p.m. local.
Dillon Leads Preseason Testing:
In his official debut carrying the No. 3 in Sprint Cup Series competition, Austin Dillon, the reigning NASCAR Nationwide Series champion capped off the quickest lap of the eight-hour plus session by posting a lap of 46.12 seconds or 195.109 miles per hour. RCR teammate Brian Scott was second at 46.25 seconds at 194.582 miles per hour, both young-guns were in single-car drafts.
Approximately five minutes before 8:00 p.m., five cars elected to draft in a pack. Aric Almirola, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray found themselves in a tight bunch before picking up single-car straggler Cole Whitt in the No. 26.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., Matt Crafton subbing for Paul Menard made it a Richard Childress Racing 1-2-3 after guiding the No. 27 Menards Chevrolet to third quickest, while drafters Almirola and Larson were fourth and fifth respectively. Casey Mears sporting the Chevrolet bow-tie in his No. 13 entry jumped to sixth fastest late in the game, while Kurt Busch in his new dew with Stewart-Haas Racing was seventh also in a solo run.
Earnhardt Jr., another drafter was eighth flanked by Homestead winner Denny Hamlin ninth and last year’s Daytona 500 pole sitter Danica Patrick comprising the top-10. Patrick, no longer a rookie in Cup competition spent a majority of the day inside the top-five, but faded before rebounding to place her car number.
Reining Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was 11th.
Other members of the drafting group landed 13th (McMurray), 14th (Kasey Kahne) and 16th (Cole Whitt).
Joe Nemechek (NEMCO Motorsports) and Reed Sorenson (Go FAS Racing) were the slowest in competition, placing 39th and 40th respectively, some two seconds slower than their competitors.
Brian Keselowski (No. 92) and Jeff Burton (No. 66) were originally on the test list, but were no shows.
Kahne (No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS) ran the most laps of anyone Friday completing 106 laps over half the distance of the approaching February 23 Daytona 500. Johnson was credited with the second most laps at 95.
Of the expected 16-hour test, teams were only able to test eight hours and 16 minutes because of Mother Nature’s rainy parade.
Menard Absent From Daytona Test:
Paul Menard was notably absent from Friday’s practice session at Daytona International Speedway. Reining NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton substituted for his fellow Menards driver after Menard battled with flooding issues at his home in North Carolina. Frigid temperatures blasted much of the east coast this week causing pipes to freeze and eventually burst. Unfortunately, Menard was a victim after his pipes expired up in the attic of his home and trickled down to the basement. No word if Menards will be handling the home improvement repair.
Busy Month For Scott:
NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brian Scott is wasting no time getting down to business during the month of January. This weekend, the Boise, Idaho native is testing in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series in preparation for Daytona Speedweeks. Scott who enters his second season driving for Richard Childress Racing will also get married to longtime girlfriend Whitney Kay on January 25 at the Shore Lodge (his sponsor and family-owned business) in McCall, Idaho. He also plans to honeymoon in Tahiti shortly thereafter.
Go FAS Racing Set For 2014:
Maine businessman Archie St. Hilaire has said goodbye to the NASCAR Nationwide Series for now and is focusing on his new partnership with Frank Stoddard in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. St. Hilaire told CATCHFENCE.com Friday afternoon that the organization is still working through its driver lineup for 2014, but confirmed that Terry Labonte will be in the No. 32 Ford Fusion for the Daytona 500 and Reed Sorenson, who is testing with the team Friday is scheduled to run some races with the team this year.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
