Earnhardt Jr. tests No. 3; Compton quickest
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 21, 2002
5:40 PM EST (2240 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a surprise guest at a sparsely-attended opening two-day NASCAR Busch Series open test session Monday at Daytona but fellow Winston Cup driver Stacy Compton ended the day atop the speed chart.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Compton's ST Motorsports team unloaded a pair of Chevrolet Monte Carlos and in the morning session the cars were within .247 seconds of each other. Compton concentrated on a single Chevy in the afternoon and ended up with a lap in 49.065 seconds, an average speed of 183.430 mph.
"I'm awful proud of these guys," said Compton, who was second quickest after the first day of the initial Winston Cup test two weeks ago, but with a slower speed. "We had a good day of testing and found stuff to make us quicker all day long."
"This is my first time, really, working with these guys," said Compton, who debuted with ST at last season's Busch Series finale with a 10th-place finish. "As long as you keep getting better all day it's a good test. We wanted to concentrate on one car all day and not stretch ourselves too thin."
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Kerry Earnhardt
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Eighteen teams were on hand, representing those that finished in the odd positions in 2001 Busch Series owner points. The most notable absence was 29th-place Team Rensi Motorsports, with 2002 driver Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Chad Little, who was one of four drivers at this test comparing a Chevrolet and a Pontiac before making a decision which car to race at Speedweeks, had a best lap of 49.144 seconds, 183.135 mph.
Rounding out the top five speeds for the day were Earnhardt Jr., who brought a No. 3 Chevrolet back to the Busch Series for the first time since Ron Hornaday last ran it in 2000, at 182.838; brother Kerry Earnhardt in the No. 12 Chevrolet, 182.656; and Ricky Hendrick in the No. 5 Chevrolet, 182.382.
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Scott Wimmer
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A damp racing surface kept cars off the 2.5-mile trioval until 10:10 a.m. ET, and 10 minutes later Earnhardt Jr., who previously had tested his No. 3 Chevrolet being fielded by Richard Childress Racing at Talladega Superspeedway, made his first run at more than 182 mph.
Later, he downplayed his return to the Busch Series -- where he won championships in the No. 3 car in 1998-99 -- and made a preview of his hope for a low-key Speedweeks, the first since his father was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
"That's our friggin' number," Earnhardt Jr. said with a laugh. "Who else is going to run it? I'm pretty happy to be back in the Busch Series. I'm glad the number is still around. It's going to be fun."
"The fans are real excited. We ran the no. 3 in the Busch Series for two years (so) it means something different to me. Other people want to connect it to my father and the comeback of the No. 3 -- it's not necessarily like that.
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Chad Little
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"We're in the Busch Series. We worked on this deal two years ago. I'm excited -- I'm pretty happy to be back in the Busch Series. It's going to be a laid back atmosphere."
Junior, who has run only one Busch race since he left the series after his second championship, was pleased with the car, which is owned by Dale Earnhardt Inc. but is fielded by Richard Childress Racing.
"I'm real happy with it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "With this kind of effort, I would like to drive a few more than just two (races that he's scheduled to drive). We've got a good enough car to win.
"I forgot how different the cars drove. They have a much more aggressive shock rule and it's just back to the days where they used to beat the kidneys out of the drivers. I'm feeling a little pain, but we're making some gains on it."
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