GEM's test gains end with Kahne as fastest of the fast

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Mark McArdle had to be smiling in North Carolina at the Gillett Evernham Motorsports shop as Sprint Cup Series Preseason Thunder ended Wednesday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.

GEM opened Preseason Thunder last week with driver Elliott Sadler posting mid-pack times on the single-car and drafting speed charts, with his No. 19 Dodge.

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But his teammates, Kasey Kahne in the No. 9 Dodge and Sprint Cup newcomer Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10 Charger, used his baseline settings to good effect.

"We got some information and some things that made us better at the start [of the test]," Kahne said. "And then we did some things that Elliott and the 19 guys weren't able to do and I felt like we got better.

"So I think you just put everybody together -- three teams, four teams or whatever your company has -- and make the best out of it. Now we have two or three weeks to work on things and be ready for the Bud Shootout and then the [Daytona] 500 the following week, so this was a good test when you're starting at the Daytona 500."

Kahne, who posted the preseason's fastest drafting test lap when he circled the 2.5-mile tri-oval in 47.591 seconds, an average speed of 189.111 mph, said McArdle's impact in his new role had already been felt.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon McArdle, who previously had served as vice president and managing director of Gillett Evernham Engines, was officially named GEM's vice president and managing director of competition.

So when his two teams that were in Daytona responded with respectable three-day performance gains, Kahne made as strong a statement outside the car as he had from inside it.

Dodges, which lagged on the single-car speed chart in the two Preseason Thunder sessions, stepped up Wednesday and posted five of the top-10 speeds on the final drafting cumulative speed chart; and Kahne said McArdle had played a big part in his own progress, at least.

"I think, for the last month [McArdle] has kind of been in his new role, and it's helped," Kahne said. "The shop's been better -- everybody I've talked to at the shop thinks things are better now -- but yeah, for them to announce it and to know what the real plan is, is a good thing.

"He's going to do a lot for us. He's going to help our team a lot. He does a lot with structure, and he plans ahead -- he has a plan for everything and he has structure and people in place and in charge of certain areas and that's going to help.

"At times we've had a lot of things thrown at us, the last couple of years -- the last three years, or four years -- and we need a better structure, we need a better plan and that's what he's going to bring." (Continued)