After trying out some drafting because he will miss the next couple of days, Denny Hamlin topped the afternoon test chart with a speed of 195.986 mph. Hamlin will miss the next two days to be home with his girlfriend Jordan Fish, who is expecting a baby any day now.

Hamlin went out on track and drafted with teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, along with fellow Toyota driver Mark Martin, to get a feel for what the car will be like in the draft as this marks the first test for the Generation 6 car.

The 2013 season marks the debut of the Generation 6 car, which is part of NASCAR’s continuing work to improve the cars. The new car is meant to be safer than the Car of Tomorrow. The other main difference is NASCAR getting back to their roots as the cars look like the cars right off the street.

During the test, Hamlin already noticed one difference in that he couldn’t clearly close up on Kenseth’s bumper.

“I think it’s just the way these bodies are with the aero platform and everything,” he said. “It’s just going to lend itself more to the pack racing. Like I said, it seems like the second car is getting just as much air thrown on the nose as what the front car is so it’s harder to suck up to the front car, which in turn will make for better pack racing versus two-car tandem.”

After leading the morning session with a single-car run, Kenseth was second in the afternoon after the drafting. This marks Matt Kenseth’s second time testing a car with Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2003 Sprint Cup Champion left Roush Fenway Racing. His first test was last month when the Generation 6 car was tested for the first time at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The third Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Kyle Busch, was third on the speed chart while Waltrip was fourth.

Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton was the highest of the drivers to do single-car runs, fifth in the charts, with a speed of 194.620 mph. His teammate Paul Menard was sixth, three tenths off of Burton.

Danica Patrick was seventh as she enters her first full Sprint Cup Series season with Stewart-Haas Racing after running the full Nationwide Series schedule last year with JR Motorsports.

Marcos Ambrose was eighth, followed by Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola. 2012 Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski was 31st, matching his position on the speed chart from the morning session.

Testing continues at Daytona tomorrow and Saturday as teams will continue to collect more data from single-car runs and test out drafting.

If you are a driver holding on to a dream of being the next Petty or Earnhardt or even the next Jamie McMurray, being on this list might not be a confidence builder. It means you are on the downside of a career, on the start of a ride bound for nowhere, or just maybe you are a guy with a plan. Of the 79 men and one woman who attempted to make one of last season’s 36 Cup events, these are the ten who ran the most for the least reward.

10.  David Gilliland – Age: 37 (as of April 1)
Team: #38 (Bob Jenkins)
Races Made/Attempted: 36/36
Best Finish: 13th
40th or worse: Once
Average Finish: 26.0
On Track Earnings: $3,464,920
It might not have been the best ride last season, but it was not a bad one. In fact, as a three car operation, Bob Jenkins’ boys pulled in more than $8-million in on-track revenues, had a couple of entries finish the year in the Top 30, and Gilliland was in a car that got out there and tried every week. One other thing, they have improved their performance over the past couple of seasons. It will be interesting to see what 2013 might bring.

9. Landon Cassill – Age: 23
Team: #83 BK Racing
Races Made/Attempted: 36/36
Best Finish: 18th (three times)
40th or worse: Once
Average Finish: 27.5
On Track Earnings: $4,148,345
Red Bull ran out of energy, with the burger boys taking over to run their inaugural season. They attempted every race, made it into the lineup every time, and finished 31st in the standings. A second entry driven by Travis Kvapil was 27th overall.  Season two looks promising, with a newly married young driver and a lot of positives to build upon.

8. David Blaney – Age: 50
Team: #36 (Tommy Baldwin Jr)
Races Made/Attempted: 34/34
Best Finish: 15th
40th or worse: Three
Average Finish: 31.8
On Track Earnings: $2,935,774
Blaney presently holds the longest winless streak among active drivers, but he is still 222 short of the late J.D. McDuffie’s record of 653. To say he is this team’s driver of the future is like saying I’m to be the next poster boy for Speedo. However, while I have not yet heard if Blaney will be back or not, probably another season in a veteran’s hands might be good decision. A young stud behind the wheel is not what they need right now. They need someone who can teach, who can pass along his experience to help a team grow. If they are looking for a driver for the future, though, there is another Blaney who could be only a couple of years away. It seems his daddy has already taught him a few things.

7. David Stremme – Age: 35
Team: #30 (McSweeney/Davis)
Races Made/Attempted: 28/34
Best Finish: 24th
40th or worse: Seven (including 6 DNQ)
Average Finish: 37.1
On Track Earnings: $2,428,301
Twenty times in 2012 this was a start and park entry due to a lack of sponsorship. Gone was owner Timothy McSweeney late in the season as Brandon Davis took over. The new boss promises the start and park days are over. He has Dale Earnhardt Jr’s cousin and former crew chief Tony Eury Jr on board. Davis’ company, Swan Energy, is a primary sponsor with more promised over the next few weeks. Stremme is to return back behind the wheel as a real racer this time.  At least, that is the plan.

6. Michael McDowell – Age: 28
Team: #98 (Parsons/Curb)
Races Made/Attempted: 30/33
Best Finish: 23rd
40th or worse: 15 (including 3 DNQ)
Average Finish: 38.5
On Track Earnings: $2,465,274
What can I tell you about Mike Curb? He wrote the 1970 hit “All for the Love of Sunshine” for Hank Williams Jr. He was the owner of record when Richard Petty won his final two races back in 1984. In fact, they are Curb’s only wins in Cup. He and Phil Parsons are together in this effort, but history would seem to indicate that if this isn’t another start and park special it would come as a surprise. That is too bad, as I have always thought Michael McDowell was more talented than the rides he has had lately. Oh, well, I guess Phil was right when he said that at least they do provide a few jobs.

5. J.J. Yeley – Age: 36
Team: #49, #37, #10, #36 (Robinson-Blakeney, Gunselman, Baldwin)
Races Made/Attempted: 24/35
Best Finish: 26th
40th or worse: 21 (including 11 DNQ)
Average Finish: 39.7
On Track Earnings: $1,860,756
What a year. First, Yeley started with the #49, but they closed shop before the end of the season.  There were a couple in the #10 for Tommy Baldwin Jr, another in his #36, then there was Larry Gunselman’s #37, with Baldwin providing some technical support. Yeley isn’t exactly old. I mean, he is a couple of years younger than Dale Earnhardt Jr. The big thing they need is the sponsorship to at least race. I mean, good fortune should be more than a quarter million dollar payout for running ten laps of the 2011 Daytona 500. Right?

4. Joe Nemechek – Age: 49
Team: #87 (Joe Nemechek)
Races Made/Attempted: 31/35
Best Finish: 28th
40th or worse: 23 (including 5 DNQ)
Average Finish: 39.9
On Track Earnings: $2,505,189
Joe owns a Nationwide team, was ranked 11th on the season, earning just under $900,000 in track earnings as he completed nearly 97% of the laps run. Joe owns a Sprint Cup team, does not run for points in that series, yet attempted to run in all 36. Joe ran in 31 of them, and earned $2.5-million for doing so. Joe was 28th in Daytona last February and 29th at the Glen in the only two events he completed. Joe might have had a chilly Cup ride, but he also had the best fundraiser of any Nationwide operation. $2.5 million for starting and parking, and all that before counting a single dime in sponsorship. Joe has a plan, and while he might be long in tooth for a driver, this owner doesn’t even turn 50 until September.

3. Josh Wise – Age: 30 (as of February 7)
Team: #26 (Bob Jenkins)
Races Made/Attempted: 30/35
Best Finish: 30th
40th or worse: 19 (including 5 DNQ)
Average Finish: 40.0
On Track Earnings: $2,306,930
Unless you are a real afficionado of Sprint Cup racing, you probably do not even know this man’s name. However, as a 29 year old rookie last season he attempted all but the Daytona 500 and took the green flag in 30 of them. I would say “raced” but he did not. He completed one event running two laps down at Sonoma where he finished 30th with Bob Jenkin’s #26 team, and led three of 47 laps run at Daytona last July. His next best finish was 37th, which he did seven times. He got to wear the suit, got to hang around the garage, got to go around the track with the big boys, got to be placed 39th in the official standings, and earned his owner $2.3 million for his on-track efforts. Sweet.

2. Mike Bliss – Age:48 (as of April 5)
Team:#19 (Mark Smith)
Races Made/Attempted: 19/26
Best Finish: 24th
40th or worse: 19 (includes 7 DNQ)
Average Finish: 41.0
On Track Earnings: $1,454,573
Another Cup entry to supplement the income of its Nationwide operations, which saw Eric McClure 16th in the standings. Mark Smith is a successful engine builder who has yet to realize his first victory in just over 450 races in NASCAR’s top two tiers. Last year marked a return to Cup after a 15 year hiatus to go along with a four team Nationwide stable just entering its fourth season. If you are going to dream, might as well dream big..

1. Scott Riggs – Age: 42
Team: #23 (Robert Richardson Sr.)
Races Made/Attempted: 20/27
Best Finish: 37th
40th or worse: 25 (including 7 DNQ)
Average Finish: 42.1
On Track Earnings: $1,496,515
I’m guessing a vast majority of folks reading this did not make over a million bucks last year nor did they enter or drive a car in a Cup race last season. Few reading this have the same level of commitment and love of the sport as those involved in this first year effort. Few will take the time to tear me a new one as the fellow who owns this team might well do. At least I won’t suffer from constipation…ever. That said, if one hopes to win a Cup championship in the foreseeable future, this team might not be for you. However, it would appear their prime focus is to use this team to help fund their Nationwide operations for the time being. Sure, Rick Hendrick may have won his first Cup race as an owner in his 8th attempt, but it took Richard Childress 242 attempts. So, early in 2020 then?

It should come as no secret that I rather detest the whole concept of field fillers, where a bucket of bolts is entered simply to make a quick buck before returning to the garage. There were very few races where entries were not above the 43 car field, so a free pass would have been hard to come by. These teams might not have much said about them over the course of the season, but what they were not were field fillers.

These ten drivers and the teams they drove for were not competitive. That is a fact. Some ran just a few laps then parked to save on expenses, not having the sponsorship revenue to do otherwise. Some sought only the big Cup payday to pad their Nationwide revenues. Some took their lumps in order to gain experience that might pay off in the future. What is also true is that they were all hoping to build on something, to progress and hopefully reach a point where they have a chance of moving from participant to challenger.

Were these the drivers with the worst ten regular rides of 2012? Their lack of media coverage and success on race day would seem to demonstrate that they are. However, these teams also demonstrated a love of the sport that, as much as we all might appreciate NASCAR, the rest of us just don’t come close to understanding.  I’m guessing a few weeks at Robert Richardson’s garage just might give us an appreciation of just that.

You can make changes, but some things remain the same. That can be said as while this is the first time at Daytona for the Generation 6 cars, defending Daytona 500 Champion Matt Kenseth topped the charts on Thursday morning with a speed of 192.757 mph. Kenseth also had the best 10 lap average.

The 2013 season marks the debut of the Generation 6 car, which is part of NASCAR’s continuing work to improve the cars. The new car is meant to be safer than the Car of Tomorrow. The other main difference is NASCAR getting back to their roots as the cars look like the cars right off the street.

Another change at the test is this marks Matt Kenseth’s second time testing a car with Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2003 Sprint Cup Champion left Roush Fenway Racing. His first test was last month when the Generation 6 car was tested for the first time at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While Kenseth moves over to Roush Fenway, that bumps Joey Logano over to Penske Racing while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. takes over Kenseth’s ride. Logano was 23rd while Stenhouse was 30th.

Richard Petty Motorsports driver Marcos Ambrose was second on the speed charts, 0.005 seconds behind Kenseth.

Danica Patrick was third on the chart with a speed of 192.583 mph as she enters her first full Sprint Cup Series season with Stewart-Haas Racing after running the full Nationwide Series schedule last year with JR Motorsports. Patrick will have experience on her pit box in the form of Tony Gibson, who was the crew chief for Ryan Newman last year. Newman is partnered back up with Matt Borland, which Borland and Newman worked together when Newman was at Penske Racing. Newman was 14th on the speed chart.

Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Paul Menard rounded out the top five. Kenseth’s new teammate Kyle Busch was sixth, followed by Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Austin Dillon. Dillon will run the full Nationwide Series schedule once again in 2013, though will also make some starts in the Sprint Cup Series.

Defending series champion Brad Keselowski was 31st on the speed chart.

Testing continues Thursday afternoon and on Friday as teams will begin drafting instead of just single-car runs.