GM tests 95-01-24

GENERAL MOTORS TESTING AT DAYTONA -- 1-24-95

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Defending Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin proved he'll be a force to be reckoned with during Speedweeks '95 as he set the second-fastest time of the winter Tuesday in General Motors NASCAR Winston Cup stock car testing at Daytona International Speedway.

Marlin was clocked at a rapid 192.431 mph in the Morgan- McClure Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo. While Marlin continued to impress, Michael Waltrip bolstered the hopes of Pontiac lovers as he posted the winter's third-quickest speed, 192.308 mph, in the Bahari Racing Grand Prix.

A total of seven GM pilots got over 191 mph, as everyone continued to chase Dale Jarrett's winter-best 192.555 run in Robert Yates Racing's Ford. Jeff Gordon moved to fourth-fastest overall by running 191.939; teammate Terry Labonte was at 191.775; Robert Pressley hit 191.652; Darrell Waltrip was at 191.612; Joe Nemechek, who plans to make a major sponsorship announcement Wednesday morning at Daytona, 191.530; Jeff Purvis, in the renumbered #44 Phoenix Racing Monte Carlo, 191.205; and Dale Earnhardt, who was in town for his first Daytona test day, 191.083.

The final day of stock car testing is scheduled for Wednesday. A section of the Oldfield Grandstand will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with access through the Visitors' Center. IMSA sports car will test on Friday and Saturday for the Feb. 4-5 Rolex 24 At Daytona, the kick-off event of Speedweeks '95.

Marlin's first NASCAR Winston Cup victory -- the 1994 Daytona 500 -- couldn't have been much sweeter. Seldom does an established driver get his first-ever victory in the biggest race of the year. Marlin wants to top that -- by winning the 1995 edition. He knows he has a winning hand in his Morgan-McClure Racing crew and the potent Kodak Film Chevrolet he drives.

"I don't know if things will be tougher coming back as defending Daytona 500 champ," said Marlin during a break in testing. "Everybody will be looking for us to win it again. That's what we've got in our minds to do. We did it once. We can do it again. Yeah, I definitely think we can do it again."

Crew chief Tony Glover, the longest-running crew chief with the same team in all of Winston Cup racing, also has a positive outlook.

"We're coming back with the same type of effort we had last year," said Glover. "I think that gives us a good shot to go to Victory Lane again. We've got a new Monte Carlo which we just finished last weekend. It's got the best of what we learned in our tests at Talladega. It looks like it's going to be real good."

Team owner Larry McClure backs up what Marlin and Glover feel about the Feb. 19 running of the Daytona 500. He's just a bit more cautious.

"It's going to be tough to win the 500 again," acknowledges McClure. "I do think it can be done. We've won the 500 twice, with Sterling and back in '91 with Ernie Irvan. I feel like we might just win it again."

"There's going to be a lot of good competition," continued McClure. "The Fords are fast, there's a lot of fast Chevrolets and the Pontiacs are fast, too. We look for a good, tough competitive race. Our new Monte Carlo shows promise. Sterling likes the car because it drives good and it's run a little faster than the Lumina. Maybe we'll have something for that #28 car (Jarrett).

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The fastest laps# turned in General Motors NASCAR Winston Cup stock car testing Tuesday at Daytona International Speedway, listing #, driver, car, time in seconds and speed in miles-per-hour:

 4    Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet        46.77 sec. 192.431 mph
30    Michael Waltrip, Pontiac          46.80      192.308
24    Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet            46.89      191.939
 5    Terry Labonte, Chevrolet          46.93      191.775
33    Robert Pressley, Chevrolet        46.96      191.656
17    Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet        46.97      191.612
87    Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet           46.99      191.530
44    Jeff Purvis, Chevrolet            47.07      191.205
 3    Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet         47.10      191.083
18    Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet          47.13      190.961
43    Bobby Hamilton, Pontiac           47.65      188.877
31    Ward Burton, Chevrolet            47.69      188.719
42    Kyle Petty, Pontiac               47.72      188.600
40    Greg Sacks, Pontiac               47.75      188.482
41    Ricky Craven, Chevrolet           47.78      188.363
22    Randy LaJoie, Pontiac             47.82      188.206
32    Mike Chase, Chevrolet             47.88      187.970
29    Steve Grissom, Chevrolet          47.90      187.891
13    Kerry Teague, Chevrolet           47.98      187.578
71    Dave Marcis, Chevrolet            48.00      187.500
14    Scott Brayton, Chevrolet          48.27      186.451
93    Charlie Baker, Chevrolet          49.04      183.524
56    Jerry Hill, Chevrolet             51.02      176.401
91    Henry Wallace, Chevrolet          NT

# = Randomly hand-timed and from various sources.