DARLINGTON, S.C.

Speeds soared and questions persisted on a fast and furious Thursday at Darlington Raceway.

NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide teams arrived a day earlier than usual to test drive this repaved track. As is the case with repaved tracks, speeds were faster.

Much faster.

Thirty-one drivers exceeded the track qualifying record of 173.797 set by Ward Burton in March 1996. All 45 drivers topped Clint Bowyer's pole speed of 164.897 mph from last year.

"The speeds are pretty insane," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

AJ Allmendinger was the fastest in Thursday night's session with a lap of 178.679 mph. Earnhardt (178.640 mph) and Dave Blaney (178.620) also topped 178 mph.

Allmendinger said the lap almost felt slower because the repaving took away bumps in the track that jarred the driver and car.

NASCAR officials don't plan to make changes to slow the cars.

"It's much faster than what it was, but I wouldn't put it in the column of ridiculous fast," John Darby, Cup series director said.

The speeds, though, could impact the racing.

"It's probably a little too fast," Jamie McMurray said. "It's going to be hard to pass guys, I think, because of the speeds you're going and the race track is narrow."

McMurray also said driving at these speeds is not easy.

"The old Darlington when you got loose, the car would just slide and you could kind of tell, 'I'm getting ready to get loose' and it slides" McMurray said.

Now, there's less warning.

"You're going so quick and the tires are so hard, they give you somewhat of a false sense of grip," McMurray said.

That will make it difficult on drivers.

"It's going to be very physical, just driving that hard and driving that fast," Earnhardt said. "It's different."

He's not alone in that sentiment.

"It's not the same Darlington," five-time track winner Bill Elliott said.

Some drivers questioned why they were here on what has been a long week. Teams were at Richmond on Friday and Saturday, tested at Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday and had a day before arriving at this track.

"I don't think we needed to come here and test," Ryan Newman said. "We race as a profession; we don't need to come here and waste our time on a Thursday."

Newman, Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle participated in two tires tests before coming here. They were the only ones on the track before Thursday. Many say Kyle Busch looks like the next Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR, especially after Busch's late-race contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond.

Earnhardt Jr. was asked Thursday how he would compare his father and Busch on and off the track.

"(Busch is) fast, he's running well, he's quick, he's aggressive," Earnhardt Jr. said. "This is Dale Earnhardt from '89 and earlier. Daddy quit doing that stuff after a while, I don't know. That's the way Dad raced, and Kyle has that same style. He's very aggressive."

And the attitude of the two?

"Personality wise, they're polar opposites," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Give me a break."