by Jeff Hammond

Updated: January 16, 2006, 10:11 PM EST

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Russ from Fresno, Calif.: Based on early tests, it looks like the Dodge teams are in for another long year. Is there any hope that they'll be competitive in this season and in this year's Daytona 500?

Jeff Hammond: That's a really good question because they're not at the top of the charts by any stretch of the imagination, and they have been relatively slow comparison with everybody else. On Day 1, Jeremy Mayfield had things going the right way. Out of all the teams that were showing some promise, believe it or not the guys that were the most optimistic were the Chip Ganassi Racing teams. They felt like they improved their program by almost 3/4 of a second over last year's practices so they were pretty happy.

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Another organization that was relatively happy with their initial effort is Petty Enterprises. Bobby Labonte said that both of his cars drove the same and ran the same speed. Like Mayfield, they're powered by Evernham engines so it's no surprise to find Labonte relatively close in speed with Mayfield and Kasey Kahne. I really believe that Ray Evernham and his engine department have done an extraordinary job.

The team with the biggest smiles on their faces had to be the No. 43 car. I really believe that Robbie Loomis and Labonte were very happy. But I also had an opportunity to talk to Ray Evernham. I believe that his organization's tri-captains rather than individual crew chiefs is going to work out pretty well. They had a successful test last week, and Scott Riggs was fifth-fastest on Monday morning and second-fastest on Monday afternoon.

Labonte, Kahne and Mayfield looked good in the draft. But the other Dodge teams have some work to do. I wasn't really impressed with Ryan Newman's Penske Racing team. There's still a lot of work between now and the time the teams come back in early February. A lot of answers will be determined after this first round of testing, including just how far behind their overall engine programs are.

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FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's new book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.