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Posted by Jeremy Dunn Jan 3, 2008 |
Tony Stewart has never been shy regarding his disdain for the humdrum testing session at Daytona every January. In fact, he has not attended a Daytona 500 practice session since 2004 as he has admitted that he had better things to do. Personally, I applaud drivers for doing their job, which is practicing for the biggest race of the year.
What if my place of employment held a long, drawn-out, boring meeting every year regarding a prestigious project we are about to undertake? What if I told my boss, 'hey, you know, the meeting is boring and I have other things I need to do. I'll let Joe Blow sit in for me and he can fill me in.' I would eventually be browsing through the Sunday classifieds.
It appears as if Tony Stewart will practice his Home Depot Toyota this year, alowing Mike McLaughlin some much needed time off. The Joe Gibbs Racing operation will be switching from Chevrolets to Toyotas in 2008, so it is vital for all three teams to become acclimated with the Camry body style. In addition, this will be the first race at Daytona in the Car of Tomorrow, or Car of Today. I don't know what to call it anymore. So Tony Stewart may learn something this year by practicing.
Stewart is scheduled to practice with the second group of drivers on Janurary 14 - 16. Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and Ryan Newman are also schedule to test on those dates.
On the Daytona 500 testing entry list, Brendan Gaughan will fill in for Robby Gordon in the first session from January 7-9. Gaughan is currently seeking employment for the 2008 season.