Preparations for the 2007 IndyCar Series season began in earnest as 17 cars and drivers tested the road course at Daytona International Speedway.
The tricky 10-turn, 2.72-mile layout challenged drivers as Helio Castroneves, Sam Hornish Jr., Buddy Rice and Dario Franchitti all slide off course in Turn 5, though none of the cars sustained major damage.
At the end of the day, Tony Kanaan had turned the fastest lap, 1 minute 12.2393 seconds, 135.549 mph in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Honda-powered Dallara. Kanaan’s best lap, set late in the afternoon session, eclipsed the mark set by Helio Castroneves 1:12.3653, 135.313 mph.
“It is a good first day for the Team 7-Eleven crew, †Kanaan said. “We were not really too worried about where we were going to finish, but obviously when you finish at the top, like we did today, it makes you feel good. It sure says a lot for all the work the guys did in the off-season.
“It’s very early in the season and this really doesn’t mean too much. We don’t race here and it’s just a test. What I am happy about is not the position we finished today, but what we accomplished with the setup and the changes we made to the Team 7-Eleven car. It was a pretty good day for us, for sure.
“I have to brag a little bit because I only have a few hours left and by tomorrow everyone will forget who was first today. Honestly, it is good for the boys who worked all winter long trying to catch up. It’s a good first day and it will massage everyone’s egos right now. I’m happy for my guys and it was a good day for us. â€
Dario Franchitti (No. 27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone, fourth-fastest): “I was pretty satisfied with the day’s work that the Canadian Club crew put in today. I didn’t like the feel of the car when we started the day and we turned in a car that I thought was not too bad. We learned a lot of things along the way so it was a good day. As a team, Tony (Kanaan) and I were trying some very different things and we’re both pretty happy so it’s good so far. â€
Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, fifth-fastest): “Everything went very well for us today. The car was great right from the start, and we just worked on little things throughout the day to make it better. Turn five seemed to cause a lot of problems for people, but we were able to keep it pretty clean through there for the most part. I felt like we were consistently making improvements in our lap times throughout the day, so that was very encouraging. â€
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