Erik Darnell in the No. 99 Ford during Preseason Thunder test sessions at Daytona International Speedway. (Ronda Greer/NASCAR Photo) ยป More Photos
For the second day in a row Roush Fenway Racing's Erik Darnell led the way in single-truck runs during NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway.
Wheeling the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford, Darnell picked up substantially over the previous day's top run with a lap of 178.547 mph on Saturday during NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series testing. On Friday he turned a lap of 177.210.
Just behind Darnell in the morning runs were the No. 29 Dodge of Scott Lynch and the No. 5 Toyota of Mike Skinner.
"We just need to get things going. We chose to bring a little different package down here to Daytona this year,'' said Skinner. "We have a little more down force, and our truck is not as slick as some of the other guys, but we're okay. We're just having fun."
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Lynch's ride sustained minor damage due to a small scrap in Turn 3. The 28 Chevrolet of Wayne Edwards spun around in the final hour between Turns 1 and 2, but reported no significant damage.
At the end of the day, the No. 2 Chevrolet of Jack Sprague and No. 7 of Andy Lally ran into each other in the garage, causing both teams to do some minor repairs to those entries.
The No. 9 Germain Racing Toyota of Justin Marks was fourth-quickest, followed by the No. 4 Dodge of Stacy Compton, who shook down both of Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia's trucks in the morning before teammate Dennis Setzer arrived at noon.
Setzer had been in Hickory N.C., until midnight at the bedside of his 65-year old mother, Tommie Newton, who suffered a stroke Wednesday night during emergency kidney stone surgery.
