Daytona Ford tests 95-01-04

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Jarrett, winner of the 1993 Daytona 500, again topped the time sheets in Wednesday's Ford NASCAR Winston Cup stock car testing at Daytona International Speedway, clocking a lap of 190.921 mph on a brisk, overcast day. Among the 18 teams that were preparing for stock car Speedweeks '95, Feb. 8-19 at Daytona, Bill Elliott, in his new driver-owner role, turned in a 190.800 lap; Brett Bodine was at 190.557; Ted Musgrave, 190.074; and Morgan Shepherd, 189.514. Testing continues today. A section of the Oldfield Grandstand will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with access through the Visitors' Center. "The team is coming along really well," said Elliott after Wednesday's session. "We're trying a lot of different things with the car to see what works best. This is just work we need to do to get the season started. The sooner it starts, the better." "We don't really take the testing times too seriously," continued Elliott. "The only time things really count is when everybody has gone through NASCAR tech inspection and we're all on level playing ground." Tony Gibson, a Daytona Beach native who came home as crew chief for Elliott-Hardy Racing for the first time since his appointment was announced in mid-December, has been working toward his current position for a long time. "Becoming a Winston Cup crew chief has been my goal since I was a little kid working with my dad (Bo Gibson) at the races," noted Gibson. "My last three jobs have been with owner-drivers. I worked for Lake Speed and then Alan Kulwicki Racing for five years. "This situation, working with Bill, fits right into the way I like to do things. Bill is excited; his brother, Ernie, who builds the engines is excited; and Charles Hardy, who is a partner with Bill in owning the team, is excited. We're focused and we've got a team of hard workers who want to win." AGATE

DAYTONA BEACH -- The fastest laps* recorded in Ford NASCAR Winston Cup stock car testing Wednesday at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway:

 DALE JARRETT      190.921 mph
 BILL ELLIOTT      190.800
 BRETT BODINE      190.557
 TED MUSGRAVE      190.074
 MORGAN SHEPHERD   189.514
 JIMMY SPENCER     189.354
 LOY ALLEN         189.354
 LAKE SPEED        189.195
 DAVY JONES        188.600
 STEVE KINSER      187.617
 DERRIKE COPE      187.032
 JEFF BURTON       186.955
 JOE RUTTMAN       185.185
 RITCHIE PETTY     184.919
 RICK MAST         184.767
 SHAWNA ROBINSON   183.486
 MIKE WALLACE      183.038
 KEN BOUCHARD      180.144

*Randomly hand-timed and from various sources