The buzz about testing at Daytona International Speedway this month can be summed up in one word: Toyota.

With a major NASCAR player like the Joe Gibbs Racing organization now on board, Toyota is chomping at the bit to prove that it can compete with the more experienced manufacturers in the Sprint Cup series - even uber-dominant General Motors.

Toyota's difficulties throughout its debut season last year are well known, unable to score a single win and struggling just to qualify for races. No Toyota driver finished in the top 30 in points in 2007.

But that was then, and this is now. Case in point: After one of the Preseason Thunder test sessions at Daytona, Ty Norris of Michael Waltrip Racing (a Toyota organization) quipped to reporters that his teams' speed charts looked just like last year's - "only upside down."

In other words, the Toyota teams are now showing up at the top of the time sheets instead of the bottom.

A look at the 2008 cumulative testing speeds at Daytona reveals five Toyota drivers among the top 15, including Kyle Busch (2), Denny Hamlin (3), Tony Stewart (10), Michael Waltrip (11), and Dave Blaney (14). Perhaps most notable is the fact that all three Gibbs Racing teammates - Stewart, Hamlin, and the new arrival Busch - were in the top 10 for fastest overall lap.

Kasey Kahne in a Dodge had the fastest lap time with a 189.11 mile per hour run - no doubt welcome news for a team that went from a series high six-win season in 2006 to a winless year in 2007 with a 19th-place ranking in the points.

While the above times refer to speeds in the draft, a look at single-car runs provides the perfect lead-in to the other big story that emerged from Daytona testing: the new era of Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. Junior's No. 88 car had the fastest overall single car run with a 185.20 mph lap.

Although Dale Jr. was not scheduled to test in the first session at DIS, he surprised everyone by showing up at the track to learn what he could from teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Casey Mears, who were all participating in the week one test. Junior was pleased with his car's performance and expressed optimism about the year ahead. His crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., predicted four wins for the team this season.

Overall, the top six speeds in single car runs came from the second week of testing, with Earnhardt's time being followed by four Toyotas - Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip, Brian Vickers, and Dale Jarrett (who will not run a full season in 2008). Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson had the fastest run from the first week at 184.782 which was 7th overall. Cooler weather during the second week of testing may be partially to blame for the comparatively faster speeds in week two.

While drivers understand the need for testing at Daytona - particularly as this is the first year that the COT will be raced there - the real "test" comes later this month when teams test in Las Vegas and California - tracks without restrictor plates and drafting packs, where downforce is key and conditions are more representative of the majority of tracks that the Cup series utilizes. The results of those test sessions will likely be a better indication of how the competition is shaping up for the season ahead. Stay tuned!