A good sign for Toyota

Tony Stewart turned his first laps in his new Toyota-powered car for Joe Gibbs Racing at Daytona International Speedway this week. He said seeing a number of Toyota drivers at the top of the speed charts the past two days was a good sign. At least he assumed it was a good sign.

Sam Greenwood / Getty Images for NASCAR

"You just don’t know what everybody else is doing so you don’t know if everybody else is showing their hand," said Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. "It makes you feel good when you make a big change like what our organization has gone through this winter and to come to the first test of the first race of the year and see so many Toyotas on top of the chart like that it’s obviously a big plus for us.”
Not only is Stewart driving a Toyota for the first time, he is driving NASCAR's new stock car at Daytona for the first time. Stewart said the car drives like an IROC car at Daytona.
"These cars don’t have near the down force that our cars last year had," Stewart said. "With the limited amount of shock travel in the front you’re hitting bump rubbers where last year we weren’t allowed to have bump rubbers. It doesn’t float around the race track like it used to -- it’s a lot harsher of a ride.”
Stewart was asked by reporters at Daytona if he feels any more pressure because of the Toyota engines and the new car. Stewart said the pressure is the same as it's always been.
"It’s a situation where you know there are so many good quality teams out there that you have to have the right pieces and the right equipment every week," Stewart said. "I feel like we have the right pieces in place and now I just have to go out there and do my job.”