Dustin Long

From Daytona to California, Dustin Long covers the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Read all of his stories on PilotOnline.com's Auto Racing channel.

Category: NASCAR

■ 15 January 2008 | 2:43 PM

Test pumps Dale Jr.; Stewart not worried about move to Toyota

Dale Earnhardt Jr. again was fast Tuesday morning in single-car test laps (teams can begin to draft in packs Tuesday afternoon). Earnhardt topped the speed charts at 185.820 mph. Toyotas again were fast. Eleven of the top 13 times belonged to Toyota cars with Michael Waltrip, Brian Vickers, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Dave Blaney in that group.

Earnhardt spoke to the media after the morning session and admitted he's feeling some pressure in his move to Hendrick Motorsports because the expectations are so high. Darrell Waltrip wrote in Sports Illustrated that he thought Dale Jr. would win six races this season. Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. told reporters Monday he expected to win four races with Dale Jr. Those are lofty expectations for a driver on a 62-race winless streak and one who has won more than four races in a season only once in eight previous years.

Even so Earnhardt certainly feels better this year at testing -- it was at testing last year when he responded to Teresa's comments questioning his desire by saying their relationship "ain't a bed of roses.'' He was asked about his mindset at testing this year compared to last year. Here's what Earnhardt said:

"Yeah, it's been pretty nice to be able to concentrate on the things that are important right now and testing and working and getting to know the guys. It's definitely ‑‑ there's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas. I didn't have to worry about job security when I was over at my other job, but I've got to worry about that now.

"I think if I do what I've been doing, I should be fine. But with being the son of the guy who built the place, you can get away with a few more things than most guys could.

"You know, I've got a really good owner that makes me feel comfortable, and so that eases a lot of other pressures, talking to him and hearing from him and listening to his thoughts on what we're doing. It takes away some pressure from that side of it.

"But I don't know the guys that well, so I'm just nervous in getting to know them and hoping that they like me and like the kind of driver I am and they're happy that they have me as their driver. That's what you want from the guys working on your cars is for them to be glad you're there and that you're the one that's driving it.

"So it's kind of neat. It's really fun to be going through this for me, and I'm enjoying those parts, and even the difficult things or the challenging parts are fun because of the atmosphere and because of the attitude that everybody there has. Everybody at Hendrick is really pumped up and giving me a good vote of confidence going into the test and going into the season, so it really makes it exciting to face all the challenges we're going to face.''

So, how many races does Dale Jr. expect to win this season?

"I just like running up front every week. I like going to the racetrack and being in the ‑‑ being toward the top of the chart, at least on the left side of the page in practices and whatnot. And in the race I like to run up front. We did that a lot last year, and when I look at ‑‑ when I take a look at all my seasons, I was better last year at showing up and being there every weekend.

"We weren't there every weekend, but I had a better car the majority of the season than I had had in seasons past. That's really all I wanted out of driving race cars. I want to be up front and be toward the front and challenging, and when I show up to the racetrack I want people to expect me to run well, not just at particular tracks everywhere. It was good to go and to do that at some tracks last year that I typically hadn't been able to do that at.

"I was hoping that with some of the extra ability that Hendrick has in winning championships and races on a regular basis that that could even improve my finishing. I don't want to sit here and 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 if we don't make mistakes on a Sunday we should have great finishes and win some races.''

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As for Tony Stewart, he was at Daytona testing for the first time a in few years. He said it was because testing didn't conflict with his midget car racing in the offseason. While many talk about Joe Gibbs Racing moving from Chevrolet to Toyota, Stewart isn't that concerned.

"In the big picture it seems like a huge change because we switched manufacturers,'' Stewart said. "But if we went ahead and made this change a year ago, it would have been a lot more dramatic than it is this year with the car that's the same for everybody. It's just literally a decal package and a motor package for the most part. I think it's less of a change this year than it would have been in the past.''

Stewart also was asked about his contract, which expires in 2009. Joe Gibbs Racing had made a push last summer to sign both Stewart and Denny Hamlin to contract extensions to make sure they would remain with the team and be a face for Toyota. Stewart has put off doing an extension. Stewart was asked how much Toyota's performance will play in his decision on what to do with an extension.

"Well, it's obviously a lot easier to sit back and wait and see what happens and see what direction things go,'' Stewart said. "But if seeing what we've done so far is any indication, I think they've done a great job already.

AFTERNOON SPEEDS (higher speeds are a result of drafting)

1. Ryan Newman (12B) ... 188.013

2. Regan Smith (01A) ... 187.625

3. Paul Menard (15B) ... 187.594

4. Kevin Harvick (29B) ... 187.531

5. Dario Franchitti (40A) ... 187.352

6. Tony Stewart (20A) ... 187.332

7. Dave Blaney (22) ... 187.320

8. Kasey Kahne (9B) ... 187.137

9. Brian Vickers (83A) ... 187.114

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88A) ... 187.075

11. Jeff Burton (31A) ... 186.970

12. Patrick Carpentier (10B) ... 186.838

13. Dale Jarrett (44B) ... 186.617

14. Michael Waltrip (55M) ... 186.536

15. Bobby Labonte (43B) ... 186.517

16. David Ragan (6B) ... 186.509

17. Scott Riggs (66H) ... 186.432

18. Bill Elliott (21B) ... 186.382

19. Sam Hornish Jr. (77A) ... 186,193

20. Sterling Marlin (09A) ... 186.162

21. Eric McClure (34A) ... 185.820

22. Denny Hamlin (11B) ... 185.789

23. Michael Waltrip (55) ... 185.479

24. Dale Jarrett (44A) ... 185.181

25. Dario Franchitti (40) 185.162

26. Brian Vickers (83B) ....184.714

27. Dave Blaney (22B) ... 184.589

28. Denny Hamlin (11A) ... 184.502

29. Patrick Carpentier (10C) ... 184.215

30. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88B) ... 184.207

31. David Gilliland (38A) ... 183.955

32. David Gilliland (38B) ... 183.854

33. Jeff Fuller (87) ... 183.790

34. Bill Elliott (21A) ... 183.468

35. Tony Stewart (20B) ... 183.441

36. Paul Menard (15A) ... 183.329

37. Sam Hornish Jr. (77B) ... 183.258

38. Ryan Newman (12A) ... 183.225

39. David Ragan (6A) ... 183.217

40. Bobby Labonte (43A) ... 183.113

41. Regan Smith (01B) ... 182.979

42. Kevin Harvick (29A) ... 182.804

43. Boris Said (60B) ... 182.771

44. Jamie McMurray (26A) ... 182.389

45. Boris Said (60A) ... 182.201

46. Stanton Barrett (50A) ... 181.925

47. Kasey Kahne (9A) ... 181.917

48. Jeff Burton (31) ... 181.767

49. Jamie McMurray (26B) ... 181.668

50. Ken Schrader (49A) ... 181.539

51. Sterling Marlin (09B) ... 180.734

52. Ken Schrader (49B) ... 180.166

53. Carl Long (08A) ... 179.311

54. Norm Benning (57A) ... 178.338

MORNING SPEEDS (Driver and car number listed with top speed)

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88B) ... 185.820

2. Michael Waltrip (55) ... 185.357

3. Brian Vickers (83A) ... 184.638

4. Dale Jarrett (44A) ... 184.600

5. Tony Stewart (20A) ... 184.585

6. Michael Waltrip (55M) ... 184.339

7. Dario Franchitti (40) ... 184.264

8. Brian Vickers (83B) ... 184.222

9. Dale Jarrett (44B) ... 184.177

10. Denny Hamlin (11B) ... 184.075

11. Denny Hamlin (11A) ... 183.978

12. Dave Blaney (22) ... 183.606

13. Dave Blaney (22B) ... 183.303

14. Jeff Fuller (87) ... 183.214

15. David Gilliland (38B) ... 183.158

16. Ryan Newman (12A) ... 183.150

17. Tony Stewart (20B) ... 183.143

18. David Ragan (6B) ... 183.076

19. Patrick Carpentier (10C) ... 182.949

20. Bobby Labonte (43A) ... 182.942

21. David Gilliland (38A) ... 182.745

22. Scott Riggs (66H) ... 182.730

23. Eric McClure (34A) ... 182.408

24. Boris Said (60B) ... 182.352

25. Paul Menard (15A) ... 182.308

26. Kasey Kahne (9B) ... 182.286

27. Regan Smith (01B) ... 182.282

28. Jeff Burton (31A) ... 182.175

29. Jamie McMurray (26A) ... 182.157

30. Stanton Barrett (50A) ... 182.153

31. Ryan Newman (12B) ... 182.116

32. David Ragan (6A) ... 182.101

33. Bill Elliott (21B) ... 182.083

34. Sam Hornish Jr. (77A) ... 182.076

35.. Boris Said (60A) ... 181.932

36. Bill Elliott (21A) ... 181.921

37. Scott Riggs (66C) ... 181.870

38. Sam Hornish Jr. (77B) ... 181.668

39. Jeff Burton (31) ... 181.649

40. Kasey Kahne (9A) ... 181.536

41. Kevin Harvick (29A) ... 181.525

42. Jamie McMurray (26B) ... 181.466

43. Paul Menard (15B) .. 181.353

44. Ken Schrader (49A) ... 181.229

45. Kevin Harvick (29B) ... 181.079

46. Sterling Marlin (09B) ... 180.875

47. Regan Smith (01A) ... 179.953

48. Sterling Marlin (09A) ... 179.953

49. Bobby Labonte (43B) ... 179.809

50. Ken Schrader (49B) ... 179.752

51. Carl Long (08A) ... 178.536

52. Norm Benning (57A) ... 175.097

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