New boys top testing.

David Gilliland and Juan Montoya had the honour of topping the times as week two of NASCAR's Pre-season Thunder schedule got underway at Daytona.

Nextel Cup testing resumed on Monday and, after returnee Ricky Rudd's efforts last week, immediately proved to be another good session for Yates Racing as Gilliland, entering his first full season in the top flight, put the #38 M&Ms Ford at the top of the timesheets with a speed of 185.090mph.

Rain delayed the start of testing until mid-morning, forcing officials to combine both the morning and afternoon sessions, but no-one else in the 34-car field proved capable of matching Gilliland's 185mph mark.

Jeremy Mayfield, making his debut in a Toyota with Bill Davis Racing, got closest to the Ford, posting a late mark of 184.854mph, while four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon put in a lap of 184.744mph to ensure that the top three spots were filled by different marques, a trend that David Stremme extended to fourth as he posted the leading Dodge lap. Rookie Regan Smith rounded out the top five.

Day two saw Dodge move to the head of the leaderboard, but it was rookie Montoya who set the early pace, posting a best morning lap of 184.574mph in the #42 Dodge to keep himself ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Stremme.

Again, no-one came close to matching Gilliland's Monday time in the session, but things changed after the lunch break when Ryan Newman raised the bar to 186.540mph at the wheel of the #12 Dodge. The Alltel driver wasn't the only one to find extra pace either, as no fewer than 21 drivers able to break Gilliland's mark, and Mike Wallace only just missing out as drafting took priority.

David Ragan's #6 Roush Racing Ford was second fastest in the session, ahead of Kurt Busch, Gordon and Matt Kenseth. Busch's day ended a little earlier than expected, however, when he blew the engine blew in his back-up car.