Fords find the fast lane in drafting

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Cars got into the draft Wednesday morning at Daytona International Speedway as Dale Jarrett posted the best lap of the week.

Ford, Dodge and Chevy all cracked the top three in the session, but the new Fusion took four of the top six speeds.

The new Ford hadn't been able to lead any of the first four sessions this week, but in the draft, the car seemed to excel.

"I ran in a couple of pretty good-sized packs," said Carl Edwards, who was fourth Wednesday morning. "To me, my car is handling so great that I never felt like I got loose or anything.

"The Fusion was working on the draft better than by itself, so I am pretty excited about that. To me, it was really nice to get out there and draft. More fun than single-car runs."

Clint Bowyer was second-fastest in a Chevy as the Richard Childress Racing machines continued to do well.

Mike Wallace was third in a Dodge. Wallace finished ninth in the 2003 Daytona 500 while driving James Finch's No. 09 Dodge, and he is trying to do it again this year. He will have to make the Daytona 500 on speed.

There were no incidents in the session, but the large packs of cars made for some tense moments in Daytona's narrow tri-oval.

Like Edwards, rookie J.J. Yeley said he was glad to see the single-car, two-lap runs come to an end.

"I pulled out there and got to lead the pack for 10 laps or so," said Yeley, who has just one career restrictor plate start in the Nextel Cup Series. "[i] caught a slower car to move around him and go by, and no one went with me, unfortunately.

"I am already feeling the effects of being a rookie at Daytona," he laughed.



Wednesday morning session

1. 88b Dale Jarrett 189.215
2. 07 Clint Bowyer 189.127
3. 09 Mike Wallace 189.012
4. 99b Carl Edwards 188.945
5. 16b Greg Biffle 188.917
6. 26b Jamie McMurray 188.834
7. 29 Kevin Harvick 188.715
8. 5a Kyle Busch 188.711
9. 01b Joe Nemechek 188.533
10. 45a Kyle Petty 188.486
11. 26a Jamie McMurray 188.411
12. 09a Mike Wallace 188.367
13. 16a Greg Biffle 188.316
14. 66 Jeff Green Chv 188.292
15. 55 Michael Waltrip 188.225
16. 22a Dave Blaney 188.222
17. 61a Kevin Lepage 188.218
18. 01a Joe Nemechek 188.159
19. 6a Mark Martin 187.954
20. 11a Denny Hamlin 187.950
21. 18a J.J. Yeley 187.825
22. 96r Terry Labonte 187.825
23. 2a Kurt Busch 187.770
24. 10b Scott Riggs 187.723
25. 42x Casey Mears 187.723
26. 95 Stanton Barrett 187.692
27. 22 Dave Blaney 187.649
28. 25b David Green 187.570
29. 66x Jeff Green 187.496
30. 89 Morgan Shepherd 187.375
31. 14b Sterling Marlin 187.363
32. 99a Carl Edwards 187.196
33. 32a Travis Kvapil 187.036
34. 15a Paul Menard 186.962
35. 10a Scott Riggs 186.904
36. 49 Brent Sherman 186.498
37. 18b J.J. Yeley 186.413
38. 45 Kyle Petty 186.389
39. 07a Clint Bowyer 186.293
40. 11b Denny Hamlin 186.100
41. 29a Kevin Harvick 185.916
42. 14a Sterling Marlin 185.521
43. 7a Robby Gordon 184.631
44. 7 Robby Gordon 184.509
45. 92a Chad Chaffin 184.498
46. 42 Casey Mears 184.475
47. 15 Paul Menard 184.275
48. 96t Terry Labonte 184.139
49. 32 Travis Kvapil 183.516
50. 49a Brent Sherman 183.348
51. 27 Kirk Shelmerdine 182.500

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