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NASCAR WCUP: Trickle Fastest On 1st Ford Test Day at Daytona

4 January 1999

Daytona Beach, Fla. - Dick Trickle of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc., posted the fastest time as Ford NASCAR Winston Cup testing opened Sunday at Daytona International Speedway as teams prepare for the Bud Shootout (February 7) and the "Great American Race," the 41st Annual Daytona 500 (February 14).

Trickle was clocked at 47.611 seconds, for an average speed of 189.032 mph in the #13 Bill Elliott owned Ford.

"I think Bill has enough parts and pieces and cars and personnel to run a second team part-time. And as you know the Daytona 500 is the granddaddy of them all and if you're going to run five races during the year, the Daytona 500 is going to be one of them. It just happened that I am the odd man out during the off-season and he (Bill Elliott) gave me a call and asked me to come down here and shake the car down."

Ricky Craven, who will drive for the new #58 SBill Motorsports Team owned by Scott Barbour is anxiously awaiting the beginning of the 1999 NASCAR Winston cup season.

"We were hoping for a good strong start, but most importantly, we want to show improvement each time we test. Time is a scarce commodity during testing. You have to make the most of what little time you do have We are awfully proud of what we have accomplished during the off-season, but the real test is when we come back here in February and get ready for the biggest race we will run all year."

The Ford NASCAR Winston Cup test continues Monday. A section of the Oldfield Grandstand is open daily at no charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with access through DAYTONA USA, "The Ultimate Motorsports Attraction." Guided tours of the Speedway are also available from 9:30 a.m- to 5:00 p-m. for a nominal fee.

Ford test speeds -- January 3, 1999 -- Day 1 of 2 Daytona International Speedway:

No.    Driver/Make             Time    Speed

13A    Dick Trickle/Taurus    47.611  189.032
77A    Robert Pressley/Taurus 48.034  187.367
13     Dick Trickle/Taurus    48.120  187.032
77B    Robert Pressley/Taurus 48.321  186.254
90B    Mike Harmon/Taurus     48.449  185.762
58     Ricky Craven/Taurus    48.527  185.464
59     Mark Gibson/Taurus     48.896  184.064
90A    Mike Harmon/Taurus     49.371  182.293