Week 2 TESTING UPDATE
By RICK MINTER Cox News Service
A second week of preseason testing for Sprint Cup drivers has been completed at Daytona International Speedway, and now the focus turns to preparation of cars for the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series. Here are some of the top story lines from last week's testing at Daytona.

Photos by NASCAR New car, same attitude: Tony Stewart showed up for testing at Daytona International Speedway last week with his new No. 20 Toyota (above), but some things haven't changed. During Q&A sessions with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, reporters found his deadpan sense of humor to be classic Stewart.

Cool reception for open-wheel crowd

Much of the focus in the two preseason test sessions at Daytona was on the open-wheel drivers who are making their Daytona 500 debuts next month.

Several posted good times throughout the tests, which concluded Jan. 16. Dario Franchitti was fast in every session of the second week and posted the third-fastest time in the final drafting run. But some veterans remained a little leery of the newcomers.

Michael Waltrip was among those expressing concern.

Kasey Kahne had the fastest car in the draft during Preseason Thunder. His No. 9 Dodge (right) was the only car to break 189 mph.

"Nobody really impressed me," he said. "I get scared by the [drivers] who do it every week, so I'm a little tentative when I see somebody do it that I know has never done it before. It's easy to mess up here at Daytona without ever really knowing it was coming."

Sophomore driver David Ragan said the open-wheelers see other drivers bump-drafting and naturally try to imitate them. But he and Waltrip say there's more to it than one might assume.

"When you come to Daytona to draft, it's very meticulous and you have to really be smooth,"Waltrip said. "You have to really understand what you're doing. ... Whether its Dario [Franchitti] or Patrick [Carpentier] or whoever it is, there's just a lot to learn."

But Waltrip said the test sessions help the novices.

"They can get a little head start," he said. "They can come down here and do this, and then go home and think about it. Then when they come back in a few weeks, they will be more prepared and more ready to get out there."

After the second week of testing at Daytona, Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he's more at ease with his Hendrick Motorsports team.

Top speed honors for the Daytona tests go to Kasey Kahne and his No. 9 Budweiser-sponsored Dodge. He turned a lap at 189.111 mph in the final drafting session. Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota was second, followed by Franchitti in the No. 40 Dodge.

Presidential politics and fishing

There's far less pressure on drivers during testing at Daytona than there will be next month during Speedweeks, and that low level of stress can lead to some light-hearted moments.

During a session with reporters last week, defending Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick responded to a question about the buzz surrounding Earnhardt Jr. and his new No. 88 ride by saying, "I thought you were going to ask about politics. Gosh, I thought you were going to ask me something exciting."

So the questioning shifted to politics, and Harvick revealed that he'd recently discovered MSNBC and become interested in presidential politics.

Asked if he liked Hillary Clinton, Harvick responded: "Please, I don't want my president to cry." He was referring to Clinton's emotional moment during an interview just before the New Hampshire primary.

Pressed on the issue, he said his pick for president was Republican Mike Huckabee.

Stewart returns in form

The No. 20 Sprint Cup car has changed from a Chevrolet to a Toyota, but the same old Tony Stewart showed up for testing at Daytona.

Stewart, who appeared to have skipped several trips to the barber, participated in a news conference with reporters, and it was clear from his initial answers that his deadpan sense of humor remains intact.

When asked what it would mean to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500, he responded: "The same as what it would have meant to win the 49th edition last year."

"I just like the way he presents himself and the way he talks," Harvick said. "[Rudy] Giuliani has been to a lot of NASCAR races, but I just like the way Huckabee presents himself, whatever that matters."

While in Daytona, Ryan Newman took the opportunity to get a little fishing in and play a little mind game with rival Tony Stewart at the same time.

Finishing up early one day, Newman grabbed his fishing gear and headed for the garage gate.

"I decided I'd stroll past the 20 car and ask Stewart how his day was going with my fishing rods in my hand," Newman said. "He just looked at me and goes, 'Where you going?' I said, 'Fishing.We're done for the day.' "

Jason Shapiro, Stewart's car chief, saw the rods and reels and quickly joined the fishing party, then added his part to the fish tale.

"[Shapiro] caught three fish standing right there next to me, so that was a little disappointing," Newman said.

The next question was about what had changed in the last year to allow Toyota to rise from the bottom to the top of the speed chart.

"I don't know, I just started working for them yesterday," he said.

The first real answer came following the next question, when he was asked whether it's worth the trouble for a NASCAR driver to let some personality show.

"I don't think it's worth it to be honest," he said. "It's just a lot easier just to be kind of plain-Jane and know that when you leave the track Sunday night you don't have to go to work Monday and Tuesday putting out fires."

Earnhardt Jr. has fast start

Dale Earnhardt Jr. seems to be at ease with his new team at Hendrick Motorsports.

Driving the No. 88 Chevy, he was at, or near the top, of the speed charts during Week Two of testing at Daytona.

Earnhardt Jr. said there's a lot less pressure on him now than a year ago, when he was driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and considering whether he should remain with that team or seek another.

"It's been pretty nice to be able to concentrate on the things that are important right now, and testing and working and getting to know the guys," he said. "There's a little bit less pressure in certain areas and more pressure in other areas. I didn't have to worry about job security when I was over at my other job, but I've got to worry about that now."

But even though he no longer has the security that came with driving for a team founded by his father, he does have a new car owner, Rick Hendrick, who has been kind of a father figure to him.

"I've got a really good owner who makes me feel comfortable, and so that eases a lot of other pressures, talking to him and hearing from him and listening to his thoughts on what we're doing," he said. "It takes away some pressure from that side of it."

Hendrick, who attended the Daytona test, said part of his job is helping manage Earnhardt Jr.'s time, so that he doesn't get so busy being Dale Jr. off the track and becoming distracted when he gets in the car.

"We worry about that," Hendrick said. "He hates to say no to anybody, sponsors and all, but there is a point in time where he's got to have time for himself to be focused on the car." Hendrick said the same issues surface with his other drivers.

drivers. "You see it with Jeff Gordon and guys that have a lot of demands," he said. "You have to protect them or they'll get burned out before they get in the car. "That's a concern and something we're working on, but I think we have a real good balance right now, and hopefully we can keep that through the year."