Superbike at Daytona looked much like it has the past few years with Ben Spies and Mat Mladin leading the way on Wednesday. However, Yamaha's Jason Disalvo was third fastest on the day. Disalvo was within 1.1 seconds of Spies' time.

Spies said he's ready for the season to begin and both he and Mladin were under the existing track record on Wednesday afternoon. Spies says he is looking to get a good start in the points and he wants to win more races in '08. "That's one goal," he said after practice. "We need to win more races. We didn't win enough (last year when he won the championship by one point) and that's something I'm not happy with."

Mladin said little has changed in the pecking order or his outlook. He's still taking one race at a time and not really concerned with points, just putting in strong races each time out. "I'll go out there and rip it and see what happens," he said. "I can't think about a championship. My teammate is fast and I have to beat him."

Mladin said the Suzuki is fast now but expect more as the season progresses. More go-fast parts are on the way after Daytona.

After the session, there were handshakes all around in the Yamaha pits. For Disalvo, the third quickest spot was like a small victory. He struggled mightily in his first year on a Superbike and his job was in peril as summer turned to fall. If Wednesday was any indication, Yamaha made the right choice in sticking with the bearded New Yorker.

Fourth place Tommy Hayden is on the pace this weekend. The Kentuckian did not test much in the off-season due to some surgeries, but he's in top shape and looks more confident on the bike.

After a mad dash from Atlanta the previous night after encountering flight problems, Eric Bostrom was fifth for Yamaha on Wednesday at one of his least favorite tracks.

Sixth quickest was Roger Hayden, who was just a few hundredths from his brother in fourth place. The Kawasaki man looks very fast this weekend in the infield and on the banking.