LAS VEGAS — It lasted four hours, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday's test session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway had the potential to provide a glimpse into months of upcoming races.
NASCAR gave teams a rare chance to practice on the day before the official race weekend began — the only scheduled opportunity of the year — on the kind of track that holds nearly one-third of the season's races.
Las Vegas is one of 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks, meaning what teams found Thursday could translate to many other events.
"Everybody is really anxious to see where they are after all the offseason work and study against the competition," Earnhardt said. "We got an idea at Phoenix (last week), but that's a unique racetrack — not really comparable to a lot of other tracks on the circuit. This will be a real good idea of exactly where each company is performance-wise."
If that's the case, then perhaps the competition should fear Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick even more. Harvick, who clearly had the best car when he won at Phoenix, was the only driver to top 190 mph Thursday and also had the second-fastest 10-lap average to Richard Childress Racing's Paul Menard.
Even scarier? Harvick said his car was considerably off the pace to start the day, but crew chief Rodney Childers and the rest of the team calmly worked through the problems.
"If we came here and ran really well right out of the box, it probably wouldn't have been the best thing in the world," Harvick said. "It's good for all of us to have to work at it and communicate and do things you're going to have to do throughout the year to overcome (setbacks)."
Harvick's solid day was no surprise, given how he dominated at Phoenix, but it could be more evidence the newly formed No. 4 team is will be one of the biggest threats for the foreseeable future.
Expect Vegas oddsmakers to note Harvick's favorite status the way much of the garage has.
"They will be extremely challenging," Earnhardt said. "I think the Phoenix race was just a sign of more to come. When we went to test at Charlotte (in December), his car was by far superior. I was like, 'Everybody better watch out; everybody better wake up, because this is going to be a strong team.'"
Meanwhile, there was decidedly less optimism for those toward the bottom of the speed chart.
Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle (34th) said it was apparent his team's Fords weren't where they needed to be. Roush's top driver was Carl Edwards (27th).
"I'm willing to talk about anything but today's test," Biffle joked. "We're not getting hold of the racetrack, is about the best I can say."
Hendrick Motorsports' Chevrolets also were slower than expected; Jimmie Johnson (18th) and Earnhardt (19th) were best.
NASCAR officials expect drivers' performances to fluctuate as teams figure out new rules implemented at the start of the season.
"Anytime you give them something new, there's going to be a little bit of a learning curve," NASCAR vice president of innovation Gene Stefanyshyn said. "The Harvick team has got it figured out already — and some of the other guys are struggling."
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