Any questions about Toyota going through a learning curve in its first year as a competitive manufacturer on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit were answered by recent testing at Daytona and Las Vegas.

The message to Ford, Dodge and Chevrolet was that Toyota plans to make a statement.

Dave Blaney, who drives the No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota Camry for Bill Davis Racing, was pleased with the testing results. In addition to the 22 ride, Blaney will race a full season with Braun Racing’s No. 32 Toyota entry.

“It’s going really well,” Blaney said Thursday during a rare down time before he returns to Las Vegas for Busch testing next week. “The Cup cars were fast at Daytona, and we were happy with them, too, at Las Vegas. We had a Busch test at Daytona, and it went well. We’re really pleased.”

Blaney’s best time in Cup testing at Daytona was 186.378 mph, which was 21st in the field. He had the fifth-fastest time in the first of four runs at Las Vegas earlier this week at 182.760. His fastest time was 183.955.

This will be the second straight season with BDR for Blaney, which means another year of working with crew chief Kevin Hamlin. The team ran a Dodge last season, minus factory support because of a lawsuit between BDR and the manufacturer.

Toyota has hooked up with three Cup ownership groups this season. BDR will field the 22 and the No. 36 driven by Jeremy Mayfield. Mike Skinner tested at Las Vegas and could run several races.

Dale Jarrett, who will drive the No. 44 UPS car for fledgling Michael Waltrip Racing, had the seventh-best time of 186.536 at Daytona.

“I thought coming in that Toyota would help us,” said Blaney, a 1981 Badger High School graduate. “The way the engines are running and the bodies and other things, it’s shaping up way better than I thought it would on both sides.”

Qualifying for the Feb. 18 Daytona 500 will be Feb. 11, which will set the field for the twin 150-mile qualifying races Feb. 15. The 22 car didn’t qualify well for the 500 last year, but Blaney was able to remain on the lead lap and finish 22nd because of the car’s drafting ability.

Assured a spot in the 500 based on its finish among the top 35 last year, the 22 team will place more emphasis on getting the car ready for the drafts of race day. That doesn’t mean the car won’t qualify better than it did last year.

“I think we can make some good qualifying laps,” Blaney said. “We will improve over where we were last year. The Mayfield car should qualify well. They’re paying more attention to qualifying because they don’t have points to fall back on. I’m pretty optimistic we can qualify well. The thing is to have a good engine and draft well.”

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