Post by dalejrfan on Jan 11, 2006 22:14:06 GMT -5
ELLIOTT'S MB2 CHEVY FASTEST IN FIRST DAY OF DAYTONA TESTING
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2006) -- Bill Elliott, driving the No. 36 Chevrolet for MB2 Motorsports, got off to a fast start Monday in the first of three days of testing for the Daytona 500.
Led by crew chief Frank Stoddard, Elliott posted the day's fastest speed at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway with a lap time and speed of 48.072 seconds at 187.219 miles per hour. Following Elliott were Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon with equal speeds of 187.029.
"I'm stepping in to an already good deal -- MB2 has a history of fast superspeedway cars," said Elliott, who has not driven a General Motors car since October of 1979. "We got by the first hurdle by having a fast car as soon as it was unloaded. If you're not fast off the trailer, it's then difficult to find that extra speed. We're in good shape after the first day of testing."
Elliott, who last entered the Daytona 500 in 2003, is a two-time winner of NASCAR's biggest race and has claimed the pole for the 500 a record-tying four times.
"Everything went smoothly today," explained Elliott. "This team is so connected. We've got a strong baseline and that will allow us to experiment more the next two days. I just mashed the pedal and took off for a very fast ride. It's nice to be on top of the speed charts, but I'd rather be at the top in another month."
Half of the Nextel Cup teams are at Daytona testing while the other half will be here next week, including Elliott's MB2 teammates Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin.