How committed is Dale Jr. to his new team? After checking out Australia’s V8 Supercar action last month, and shooting a Super Bowl commercial in L.A. last week for Mountain Dew/Amp, he flew down to Daytona for Pre Season Thunder, surprising his new teammates, as well as everyone else. Most drivers hate testing, and Dale Jr.’s no exception, but he wants to get a jump on the season with the COT, and the first round of testing is the place to do it.

With his teammates all testing this week, it’s a smart move. Not only can he use the information from this session for his testing next week, but his arrival emphasizes his commitment to Hendrick Motorsports. Teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson and Casey Mears posted 4 of the 7 fastest laps in the Monday morning session, with Jimmy Johnson fastest at 184.782. Tuesday morning they posted 3 of the 7 fastest laps, with Jimmy Johnson again fastest at 184.763.

Tuesday afternoon times really picked up, as teams continued to work on the COT, with J.J. Yeley in a Toyota posting the fastest lap at 187.359. Joe Nemechek had the fastest Chevrolet at 187.137, with Jimmy Johnson 9th fastest at 186.889.