GM tests 95-01-12

GENERAL MOTORS TESTING ENDS -- 1-12-95

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Robert Pressley equaled the winter's fastest speed in pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup stock car testing Thursday at Daytona International Speedway as General Motors teams ended their three-day session in preparation for the Feb. 19 Daytona 500. Pressley was clocked at 191.898 mph in Leo Jackson's Chevrolet Monte Carlo -- the same speed turned in by Dale Jarrett in Robert Yates' Ford Thunderbird. On Thursday, Terry Labonte ran 190.840 mph in another Monte Carlo, while his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Ken Schrader, ran 190.154.

Testing continues on Saturday when NASCAR Goody's Dash Series teams will open a two-day test preparing for the Feb. 17 Florida 200. A section of the Oldfield Grandstand will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with access through the Visitors' Center.

Darrell Waltrip, the 1989 Daytona 500 winner, would like nothing better than to start the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup season with a win in the Daytona 500. After two winless seasons, Waltip heads into the Feb. 19 running of the season's biggest event riding a 69-race winless string. His last victory was on Sept. 6, 1992, in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C.

"We're pleased with the car and where we are," noted Waltrip, on the final day of GM testing. "This was the first test of the Monte Carlo for us. The teams which went to Talladega to test have a leg up on us, but we're learning. We're slowly narrowing the gap. I feel we're near to where we need to be at this point."

"It's a piece of cake for the first year or two when you get into being a team owner," continued Waltrip. "I feel fortunate to have won five races in our first two years. We wanted to get better and to do that we started an in-house engine program in '93.

"We saw the fruits of that at the end of last year. We've been patient and we've seen progress. I think we're back to where we'll start seeing solid results. Can we win the Daytona 500? I don't know, but it sure would be nice."

Waltrip will celebrate his 48th birthday on Feb. 5. "I used to think 35 was old, and then I thought 45 was old," said Waltrip. "Now that I'll be 48, I don't think that's old at all. I've got some more years of racing in me. I guess, realistically, I'll quit when my sponsor, Western Auto, doesn't want to race any more. They're a good sponsor and they've said they'll be with me for a long time."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The fastest laps# recorded in pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup stock car testing Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, listing car #, driver/car, time in seconds and speed in miles per hour:

33   Robert Pressley/Chevrolet        46.90      191.898
 5   Terry Labonte/Chevrolet          47.16      190.840
25   Ken Schrader/Chevrolet           47.33      190.154
40   Greg Sacks/Pontiac               47.40      189.873
18   Bobby Labonte/Chevrolet          47.41      189.833
17   Darrell Waltrip/Chevrolet        47.43      189.753
24   Jeff Gordon/Chevrolet            47.52      189.394
31   Ward Burton/Chevrolet            47.56      189.235
43   Bobby Hamilton/Pontiac           47.72      188.600
41   Ricky Craven/Chevrolet           47.87      188.009
93   Charlie Baker/Chevrolet          N/T

# = Randomly hand-timed and from various sources