| | ESPN.com news services
INDIANAPOLIS -- Ford drivers wrapped up pre-Brickyard 400 testing Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Rusty Wallace fastest overall, Ricky Rudd fastest for the day, and Mark Martin fastest in sizzling afternoon heat.
Wallace recorded the top speed of 181.217 mph for both the Ford and GM
testing sessions, but it was done under late-afternoon cloud cover Monday.
On Tuesday, the sun glared fiercely on the racing surfacing and pushed the
track temperature to a scorching 143 degrees. This slowed all speeds by 2 to
3 mph as most Winston Cup teams worked on race setups.
Martin drove his Valvoline/Cummins machine in mid-afternoon and hit 177.207 mph, then returned later as the track cooled to 132 degrees and clocked a 178.177 circuit. During the morning session when it was cooler, his top lap was only 174.790.
Rudd, driver of the Texaco/Havoline car and winner of the 1997 Brickyard
400, took advantage of the cooler morning temperatures to turn the day's
best speed of 179.592.
Also clocking better speeds in the morning were Jimmy Spencer, 178.899; rookie Matt Kenseth, 178.390; Wally Dallenbach, 178.243, and Darrell Waltrip, 178.140.
Wallace's best lap Tuesday was 173.995, 20th overall on the day.
Martin, who has finished fifth, fourth, sixth, second and fourth in the last five Brickyard races, wondered aloud whether the 181-mph turned by Wallace on Monday and Joe Nemechek last week during GM testing would be seen
in qualifying Aug. 3.
"It was awful cool," he said about those sub-50 second laps.
"They're not going to let anybody run when it's cold, and then everybody
else go when it's hot. It's pretty much whatever the weather is when we come
is what we'll be racing under, so it's a good chance it will be hot."
Qualifying for the pole and the first 25 positions is scheduled for Aug. 3, possibly under a blazing afternoon sun. The pole speed has climbed from 172.414 mph by Rick Mast for the inaugural event in 1994 to the track-record 179.612 mph by Jeff Gordon last year. The race will be held Aug. 5.
Defending Brickyard 400 winner Dale Jarrett was closest to Martin in the afternoon in his Quality Care/Ford Credit car. Reigning Winston Cup champion Jarrett turned a 177.808 mph lap in mid-afternoon. | |
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Wallace turns in record lap to lead Ford's Brickyard testing brigade
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 Ricky Rudd was getting a feel for his car Tuesday.
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Dale Jarrett is getting used to the track at the Brickyard.
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Jeff Burton spent Tuesday working on his setup.
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