Daytona Beach, FL (Best E Casino) - After two days of single-car testing, Jimmie Johnson, the two-time defending Sprint Cup champion, showed he was still the top dog by leading testing in three consecutive sessions.

Johnson led both single-car sessions on Monday (184.782 m.p.h. in the morning workout and 184.672 m.p.h. in the afternoon). He was still the fastest on Tuesday morning with a speed of 184.763 m.p.h..

"I didn't expect today to be this much fun and really be challenging as a driver and challenging as a team in finding the right setup and balance of the car," said Johnson.

When Tuesday afternoon's "drafting session" took place, the No.96 Toyota of J.J. Yeley was on top of the charts (187.359 m.p.h.). Kurt Busch (187.317) and Kyle Busch (187.149) were second and third, respectively. Johnson (186.889) slipped to ninth overall.

Three of the four members of Hendrick Motorsports tested this week, with just Dale Earnhardt Jr. scheduled for the second test session. But "Junior" was obviously chomping at the bit as he showed up on Monday to watch his teammates.

"I don't have any teammates to test with next week," said Earnhardt Jr. to NASCAR.com. The COT has never been to Daytona. I wanted to make sure if there were some hurdles, I wanted to see them."

"I was surprised," said new teammate Jeff Gordon. "Most drivers, if they're not here testing, they don't want to be here. So I was surprised. I think it says a lot. And it's smart, you know, on his part."