Amick fastest during Busch Series test at Daytona
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 24, 2002
6:58 PM EST (2358 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Former Goody’s Dash Series champion Lyndon Amick hasn’t had a lot to smile about in racing lately, but he was grinning broadly after setting the fastest test lap of the winter by any division Thursday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.
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Lyndon Amick recorded the fastest test lap of the winter in his No. 26 Pontiac.
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Amick’s day -- the first of the final two-day NASCAR Busch Series test of the winter -- started badly when his loose No. 26 Pontiac scuffed the wall in Turn 4. But his Carroll Racing team straightened the creased fender and with that car Amick turned a lap in 48.565 seconds, an average speed of 185.319 mph.
Thursday’s test laps occurred during a record-high temperature of more than 80 degrees and included the three fastest laps of the week by Busch cars and the fastest overall lap that has been turned all month by either a Winston Cup, Busch Series or Craftsman Truck Series entry.
“Hitting the wall like I did was about one-tenth as bad as it could have been,” Amick said of his car, which was loose on the morning run. “As many high points as I have had in the rest of my life, I have had a lot of soul-searching to do in my racing the last five years.
“I can’t begin to tell you how good it is to be with this team and how fortunate I am to be with a group that has been solid for the last two years, with no turnover.”
Joe Ruttman, who is testing the No. 1 Yellow Freight Pontiac for Phoenix Racing owner James Finch, ran 184.934 mph at mid-afternoon. Former Busch Series Rookie of the Year Jeff Fuller, whom crew chief Brian Pattie said would run a No. 88 NEMCO car in the EAS/GNC Live Well 300 at Daytona alongside team owner Joe Nemechek’s No. 87 car, had a lap of 184.237 mph in a Chevrolet.
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Joe Ruttman tested in the No. 1 Yellow Pontiac.
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Rounding out the top-five on a day when teams were delayed about 70 minutes by a damp track, were Michael Waltrip in the No. 99 Chevrolet, 182.797; and Jeff Green in the No. 21 Chevrolet, 182.367.
The fastest Ford was Greg Biffle’s No. 60 Grainger Taurus, in 13th at 180.748 mph.
Twenty-three teams were on hand for the session, and the debate between using a Chevrolet vs. a Pontiac continued. At the first Busch session earlier this week, four teams tested Chevrolets and Pontiacs back-to-back.
Thursday, both Waltrip and Raines tested both a Chevrolet and a Pontiac. Carroll Racing and Innovative Motorsports had two Pontiacs each after running Chevrolets last season. Phoenix Racing also ran the Pontiac it used here last year.
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Michael Waltrip tested both a Chevrolet and a Pontiac.
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“Everybody’s got a Pontiac and it’s a shame that NASCAR let the rules get out of whack to where everyone had to build one or go buy one,” Waltrip said. “But they did and we’re just trying to be a prepared race team.
“We’ve got a great sponsor in Aaron’s Rent and we don’t feel like we’d be doing them justice if we didn’t have a Pontiac if it wound up being what you needed.”
Waltrip said he made his best lap of the morning on last year’s tires in his first two-lap run, in which the second lap is typically quicker.
“We’re hoping we can race our Chevy because it’s the car I like,” said Waltrip, who finished 37th in the Daytona Busch race last year. “Right now it’s a little quicker but we haven’t done anything yet -- we’re just getting started.”
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Greg Biffle tested the fastest of all the Ford teams.
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Brewco Motorsports, which used Chevrolets at every track except Daytona and Talladega last season, had a pair of Pontiacs on hand for drivers Jeff Purvis and Jamie McMurray.
Team Rensi Motorsports, which used Chevrolets last season, had a pair of No. 25 U.S. Marines Fords for Bobby Hamilton Jr. while Shane Hall, who drove a No. 63 Lance Ford last year, had a No. 63 Chevrolet at this test.
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