CUP: MWR Teammates Cross 204 MPH Barrrier At Daytona

Sprint Cup

CUP: MWR Teammates Cross 204 MPH Barrrier At Daytona

Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer set a blistering pace on Friday morning at Daytona...

Jared Turner | Posted January 13, 2012 Daytona Beach, FL

Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. (Left) and Clint Bowyer (Right) confer in the garage area at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Hello, 204 miles per hour.

Actually, make that 204.722.

That's the blistering pace at which Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer hooked up to navigate Daytona International Speedway Friday morning as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams recommenced for the second day of Daytona Preseason Thunder.

Not far off the MWR drivers' pace in their own two-car draft was the Richard Petty Motorsports duo of Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola, who ran identical laps of 203.142.

The top four speeds, which eclipsed Friday's best lap of 202.402 mph set by Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch in the afternoon, were all set following overnight changes made by NASCAR in an effort to break up the unpopular two-car tandems seen over the last two seasons at Daytona and Talladega.

NASCAR told Sprint Cup crew chiefs late Thursday that the size of the restrictor plates would be increased from 29/32nds of an inch to 15/16ths of an inch, adding about 25 horsepower. The size of the grille outlets was also reduced, making the cars more prone to overheating.

While Friday morning's three-hour run featured more than one two-car draft, it was dominated by single-car runs as teams work on their qualifying package ahead of Daytona Speedweeks.

Fastest of the single cars was the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon, who posted a lap in excess of 196 mph — more than three miles per hour faster the best time set by a single car on Thursday.

Drivers are expected abandon single-car runs and mix it up in a large pack of between 15 and 20 cars in Friday afternoon's four-hour session (1 p.m. ET on SPEED).

The change will come at the urging of NASCAR officials, who want to see what affect the rule modifications will have on the tandem draft when multiple cars run close together as they will in the Daytona 500.

"It will be kind of cool to get out there and do something different," said Hendrick Motorsports newcomer Kasey Kahne. "Hopefully, it will be a big pack and we'll see how that works."

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.

DAYTONA PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING: During the Jan. 12-14 test sessions at Daytona International Speedway, fans can submit questions and comments through Twitter @SPEED (http://www.twitter.com/speed) using the #daytonatesting hashtag.