DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Dale Earnhardt Jr. started a 12-car accident at Daytona International Speedway Friday that essentially shut down a three-day test session meant to hone NASCAR's redesigned cars. Stock-car racing's most popular driver was trying to bump draft with Marcus Ambrose on the back straightaway when he lifted Ambrose “like a forklift” and turned him into the wall. Ambrose's Ford bounced back across the track and triggered a pileup that collected a host of others. “It was a big mess and tore up a lot of cars down here trying to work on their stuff,” Earnhardt said. “Definitely the drafting is not like it used to be. You can't really tandem certain cars; certain cars don't match up well.” Two of Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, also were involved. So were defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, new teammate Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola and Regan Smith. There were no injuries, but the wreck caused several teams to leave Daytona. At least 10 teams, including Michael Waltrip Racing, Penske Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports, packed up their haulers and headed back to North Carolina. One driver who avoided the melee was five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. He and crew chief Chad Knaus decided before the session to stay. “It doesn't make any sense to go out there and draft,” Johnson said before the crash. “You don't learn anything. You're just taking a chance of ruining your best race car.” “It is unfortunate, but sometimes you have to wreck them to learn,” Keselowski said. Manufacturers Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota are using new cars in 2013, ones that have unique front ends that make race cars more closely resemble those on the streets and in the showroom. The new cars have considerably less downforce than their predecessors and perform differently on the track. The previous models had identical designs that made it easier for bump drafting because the front and rear bumpers lined up squarely. — AP
