Earnhardt, Toyotas dominate early Daytona testing

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If speed and prowess in testing is any indication of what to expect during February's SpeedWeeks here, then the Daytona 500 is shaping up as a Battle Royale between Rick Hendrick's Chevy drivers -- Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Casey Mears -- and Joe Gibbs' new Toyota trio of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin.On Tuesday, Earnhardt showed the only car here now that is capable of running with the Toyotas, which continued to dominate testing with 11 of the 13 fastest cars on this day.The top 35 in the points race last season are already guaranteed spots in the 500 field, regardless of what happens in either qualifying or the 150-mile qualifying races, so speed now may be relatively meaningless.Jeff Burton, in fact, said that handling will be key on Feb. 17, the first Daytona 500 for NASCAR's new winged car.And, while winning the pole or getting the other front-row spot for the season opener does carry considerable prestige, at the moment it doesn't appear to be a good indicator of who might have what for the 500 itself.Earnhardt topped the Toyotas in yesterday's morning session, with a run at 185.820 mph. David Gilliland won last year's pole at 186.320 mph.Teammates Johnson and Gordon tested here last week, along with Busch.Stewart and Hamlin weren't far behind. Stewart, then in a Chevy, and Dodge's Kurt Busch had the two best cars in last year's 500 only to take each other out in a controversial incident."I haven't missed a shift yet, and that's the hardest part of what we've done so far," Stewart said, in making clear he was here at testing for the PR value as Toyota's biggest new star, rather than for anything he might be able to do at the wheel. Stewart has skipped this test the past few years.However, the focus here was on Earnhardt, now in the Hendrick camp. The Earnhardts, Dale Sr. and Jr., have had a lot of ups and downs at Daytona International Speedway over the past 20-plus years."The Daytona 500, because so many things happen in that race, is like a little miniseries," Earnhardt said. "It reminds me of a season in itself because of the many ups and downs ... and you still can find yourself with a shot to win."I think I've got a great shot, and I think I know what I need to do to get the job done ...''But it may be his new environment that will make Earnhardt more of a threat to win here."I've got a really good owner who makes me feel comfortable, and that eases a lot of pressures -- talking to him and listening to his thoughts," Earnhardt said. "But I don't know the guys that well. So I'm nervous in hoping they like me and the kind of driver I am."Still, even the difficult things, the challenging parts, are fun because of the atmosphere and attitude."Indeed, Earnhardt said his new life at Hendrick's has been eye opening. First, simply because Hendrick "has got more stuff. And he's had a lot of the same employees for a long time. When I first started winning races, the one thing I started to understand that I should worry about was loyalty. And I see that they have that here."Earnhardt said that for the first time in a while, he has found "a peace of mind. I'm not the son of the boss anymore. So me and Tony (Eury) Jr. (his crew chief) both experienced a bit of growth, maturity, about just going from one door to the other overnight."When I first started, I could get away with saying things and get being quoted certain ways, by working for my daddy. My job now is to stay out of Rick's office as much as I can."Earnhardt is already changing. And he has a solid goal -- credibility as a championship contender. He will turn 34 during this season, so he's already a couple of years behind his late father in winning a NASCAR championship."I've always talked about trying to get credibility, and people to respect you," Earnhardt said, "and by putting myself out on a limb here, it's definitely -- hopefully -- going to get me some of that ... if we can perform and get the job done that everybody thinks we should get done. And I think we will."Peace of mind comes from just taking the risk, and it took a lot of guts to do it."Eury is predicting that he and Earnhardt will win at least four Cup races this season."When I look at all my seasons, I was better last year at 'being there' every weekend. We weren't there every weekend, but I had a better car the majority of the season than I'd had in seasons past," Earnhardt said."I was hoping that, with the ability Hendrick has in winning championships and races, could even improve my finishing. I don't want to guess how many races we'll win; we'll win some races, and I expect to win soon. I'm a good driver with a good team."And in just a few weeks he'll start to find out just how good a driver he really is.(Contact Mike Mulhern can be reached at mmulhern@wsjournal.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)