NASCAR Trucks: Chevy Silverados Top First Day of Daytona Testing
20 January 2001
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
LANCE NORICK, #90 ABChoice CHEVROLET SILVERADO, pulled out the fastest lap
in the final 10 minutes of the first day of a three-day testing session
for
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Norick's 182.482 mph lap (49.320
seconds) aced out RICKY HENDRICK's (#17 GMAC/HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVY
SILVERADO) 182.260 mph lap (49.380). Hendrick, who will contest the
entire
series this season for the first time, held the top spot throughout the
day
until Norick's final run.Third was rookie TRAVIS KVAPIL in the #60 CAT RENTAL STORES CHEVROLET SILVERADO (181.503/49.586).
HENDRICK: "He beat me, but he went from a (49).70 to a .30 so I believe he had some help with that one. Even if we're second the guys did a great job. It was a lot of fun. The Silverado was fast out of the box. There's not a whole lot we did to it. We stayed consistent all day long. It's not like we pulled a fast one out of the bag. We're going to try to gut this one out and put everything into the #24 (Jack Sprague's NetZero/Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Silverado) and see if we can help them out." (Sprague was ninth fastest -- 50.061/179.781.) ON TESTING AT TALLADEGA EARLIER IN THE MONTH: "We picked up a lot from Talladega to here. We went to the wind tunnel, to the chassis dyno a lot. The guys did an excellent job preparing for this track and testing. They worked hard and it really paid off."
NORICK: "I think the biggest thing is that we put fresh tires on it. Other than that we made a few little changes here and there, nothing major. It was more tires and kind of seeing what the Silverado will do in one lap with some fresh stuff on it. At Daytona I can go out and run 15th or 20th quick and not feel any different than I did just then. It feels a little different here and there, but this place is on the shoulders of the crew guys, the crew chief and the guy reading the computer trying to get more speed out of it." DID YOU DO ANY DRAFTING? "No. They told us this morning not to draft. the picked six drivers to do some drafting. On Sunday they will let us draft."
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series begins the 2001 season at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16.
Text Provided By Judy Stropus
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