When the teams rolled into the Daytona International Speedway last week in preparation for Daytona 500 qualifying there were the clear favorites. The Hendrick Motorsports stable was expected to be strong out of the box, along with the teams of Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing. However, few looked at the newly formed Earnhardt Ganassi Racing as an organization ready to contend.

Turning a number of heads in Sunday's qualifying session, the EGR team captured the Coors Light Pole Award with Martin Truex Jr. and put three of the team's four cars in the top-seven. For an organization that was the product of the off-season merger of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sebates, opening the season with a strong qualifying effort is a major statement.

"As you know, it was an interesting winter for most of us in the community and it's just rewarding to come here with a lot of hard work put in by a lot of people, bringing two companies together is a difficult task and was a painful thing for a lot of people on all sides of it," team co-owner Chip Ganassi said. "My hat's off to these guys because there was a core group of people that never wavered, never lost focus on what they wanted to do and today, putting three cars in the top seven spots is quite a reward for that. My hat's off to all the people back in the shop and in the trenches doing the work and the guys wheeling these things around here."

Part of that core group of people Ganassi was referring to consist of crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and driver Martin Truex Jr. Two of the most dedicated and competitive people in the garage, this driver-crew chief combination put all of the distractions of the winter behind them and focused on showing up strong right from the get-go.

Putting the off-season distractions behind them was no simple task. For the second time in as many years, the No. 1 and No. 8 team were forced to move to another shop - this time the Ganassi facility in Concord, N.C. In addition to finalizing the move, Truex Jr., Manion, Aric Almirola (driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet) and his crew chief Doug Randolph had to quickly learn to work closely with their new teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and his crew chief Brian Pattie.

According to Truex, the team greatly benefited from the ban on testing NASCAR implemented this winter. With no requirements to hurry up and prepare a car to test, travel from track to track testing and focus on the short term goal of going to test, the team was able to take its time and truly come together as an organization.

"I think that a little bit more time off gets you prepared better," Truex Jr. pointed out. "We came down here with a better race car than we've ever come down here with, without even testing. It gave the guys time. With all that went on this winter with us, with our team, with moving shops and combining our efforts, I think testing would have hurt us more than helped us. I think it was to our advantage that nobody could test because I think we would have been a little behind if we had to. I think that it would have taken away from our efforts at the shop and getting everything prepared just right. As far as coming down here and testing, I think it hurts not going to the downforce tracks a little bit as a driver, but I think I did enough racing online to keep the rust off."

There is no doubt this organization surprised more than a few on Sunday with the positive results they posted in qualifying. Team co-owner Chip Ganassi went on to explain for this new combination to be successful right off the bat is something to be said for, not just in racing, but in business in general.

"In terms of putting the companies together," Ganassi explained, "I have some people around Pittsburgh in the business community, they read about the merger. They asked how long did I think it would take to merge our companies together. I said the first race is in February and they said geez, if you merge two companies that are, two $50 million companies or something, it usually takes six or eight months. I am really proud of the people. It is still a work in progress putting the two together. But the important thing is that, I think, is everyone has the right frame of mind and they are keeping it open. It is open book, it is keeping an open mind, it is listening a little more than talking, maybe. So far, it has gone better than anyone could have imagined."

There is still a lot of work to do before the true affect of the merger will be felt. Bono admitted the car the No. 1 team is using this weekend is an old DEI car, while Montoya is using an old Ganassi chassis, explaining the teams would begin to truly combine their efforts starting in California.

The best thing going for this organization is the group of people involved. Manion and Truex Jr. have worked their tails off year in and year out, only to be distracted by off-track problems not of their making. Now with solid leadership in the form of Chip Ganassi and Felix Sebates, this group has the potential to find the consistency and success that has escaped them for years.

"I'm happy for all those guys," former DEI teammate Mark Martin said after posting the second fastest qualifying time. "That is a group of hardcore racers and today you see less of that. You see more career guys and career racers rather than just the hardcore racers. It's special to me just to see them do well and I know they're going to be fun to watch this year -- all of them. I'm happy for them."

There is no doubt there are many in the garage and in the stands that are pleased to see this team enjoy success right away. The drive and determination of everyone involved in the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing organization is what has helped this team work through their off-season hurdles and focus on the thing that matters most - finding victory lane.

"A quitter never wins and a winner never quits, and I think that's the motto for our race team," Felix Sebates added. "We never give up. We had a tough year last year and when we got together with DEI it was a blessing for everybody because the core group of people that came from DEI are true racers."