Notebook: Kyle Busch confident Toyota will win
Kyle Busch says there's no chance Toyota will be shut out of victory lane in 2008.
Busch is confident either he or Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin will take a checkered flag this season. Other Toyota teams also have been strong in the Preseason Thunder test sessions at Daytona International Speedway.
Asked on Wednesday if he'd be surprised if Toyota didn't win a race this season, Busch said, "Yeah, actually, I would be, because that means I wouldn't get a win, that means Tony wouldn't get a win and Denny wouldn't get a win. It'd be a pretty big deal.
"But there's no doubt in my mind that at least one of us can get a win, so you're going to see Toyota in victory lane this year for sure."
The best chance for a Toyota win belongs to JGR, but Busch doesn't discount the chances of other Camry drivers.
"I feel like the Gibbs organization -- and everybody's said it -- is ultimately going to be the telltale story of how good Toyota's going to be," said Busch, who was fastest in Wednesday morning's test session at 187.786 mph. "But you've still got Red Bull (with drivers Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger), who's made a strong effort. Obviously, they came down here prepared and ready to go.
"They've been pretty fast, as well as (owner) Bill Davis. The 27 with (Jacques) Villeneuve has been pretty good. There's going to be a couple more (Toyotas) down here next week, so it'll be curious to see how the rest of them do, but it's not a stretch at all to say that Toyota's going to be in victory lane."
Allmendinger (187.375 mph) was second quickest in the draft in Wednesday's morning session, and Villeneuve (186.355 mph) was 13th.
Edwards having fun in the draft
Aside from a blistering problem with his right front tire -- a malady common to a number of teams in the opening Daytona test sessions -- Carl Edwards was pleased with the way his No. 99 Ford negotiated the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
"It was really fun," said Edwards, who improved from 19th quickest in the draft on Tuesday afternoon to 12th fastest (186.447 mph) Wednesday morning. "Like I said earlier, it was real slippery. It's hot. The tires seem to give up a lot. The cars stay really loose. Before you'd go in the corner and they'd be a little bit loose sliding in and you'd get to the center and it would be a little tight.
"Now, it's definitely not tight in the center. Mine is turning, so that's fun for me. I like having to drive the racecar the whole way around the corner. That's pretty neat."
New tire changers for Johnson
The new front and rear tire changers for Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Sprint Cup Chevrolet will be Mike Lingerfelt and Jeremy West, respectively. Both come to Hendrick Motorsports after recent stints on the No. 38 Ford of David Gilliland at Yates Racing.
They replace Mike Trower, hired by Chip Ganassi Racing for the No. 41 Dodge of Reed Sorenson, and Tim Ladyga, who moves to the No. 24 Chevy of Jeff Gordon.
Lingerfelt was changing tires for Tony Stewart when he was hit by a car on pit road during the 2000 Daytona 500. He was sidelined for more than seven months after surgery to repair a broken left femur. West was a member of Matt Kenseth's championship crew in 2003.
See more at www.sportingnews.com
