2010 Testing Rules: NASCAR announced its 2010 testing policy for its three national and two regional touring series. The policy will again prohibit testing at tracks which host NASCAR national series events, by teams in the following series: NASCAR Sprint Cup; NASCAR Nationwide; NASCAR Camping World Truck; NASCAR Camping World East; and NASCAR Camping World West. In 2010, however, testing will be allowed at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks that host a regional touring event but do not host a national series event. Based on this season’s regional tour schedules, the following tracks would be eligible to host tests next year: Greenville-Pickens Speedway; Tri-County Motor Speedway; South Boston Speedway; Thompson International Speedway; Music City Motorplex; Adirondack International Speedway; Lime Rock Park; Thunder Hill Raceway; All American Speedway; Madera Speedway; Douglas County Speedway; Toyota Speedway at Irwindale; Portland International Raceway; Miller Motorsports Park; Colorado National Speedway.(NASCAR PR)(9-23-2009)

Cup Series Teams Complete Goodyear Tire Test At Daytona: As sunshine warmed Daytona International Speedway’s new racing surface on Thursday, so did the expectations and excitement levels for the 53rd Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. Thursday marked the second day of a two-day Goodyear tire test in preparation both for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ traditional season-opening event and the track’s new asphalt. The repaving project – only the second in track history and first since 1978 – began immediately after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on July 3 and ended last week. With this week’s test open to all series teams, a number took advantage, filling the frontstretch side of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage with their haulers.
“I think it has gone really well,” said Jeff Burton (#31 Caterpillar Chevy). “Everybody is happy with the surface. The tire combination seems to be really good.”
“It's just a new attitude,” said Kurt Busch (#22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge). “This is what 2011 will bring to start off our Sprint Cup season. Big, exciting time. I'm proud to be able to say I got a chance to race on the surface when it was redone.”
Busch and Burton, along with reigning Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray (#1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy) and Bobby Labonte (#47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota) all visited the infield media center during Thursday’s lunch break. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton, Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III and Goodyear Director of Racing Greg Stucker also participated in the midday press conference.
“Good communication all along between the folks here at Daytona, Joie, Goodyear, the race teams, the series directors, everybody that had input,” Pemberton said. “It's nice to know you can show up at one of these things, have so many different things that we faced and challenges over the last year to get ready for this. Looks like the plan came together nicely.” Burton was heartened that Daytona’s repave – while cutting-edge – respected the venue. He cited the 2007 repave at another historic NASCAR venue, Darlington Raceway, as a positive example.
“It's much smoother, has a tremendous amount more grip, but it's still Daytona,” Burton said. “They didn't try to change the banking from the bottom to the top, do all that stuff. They just kept Daytona and put pavement on it. I'm glad that's what they did.”
Although the focus remains on the racing surface, McMurray noted details like a wider pit road. “They did a really good job, not only on the racetrack, but widening pit road,” he said. “It's really nice to get that little bit of extra room on pit road. Pit road speeds are really fast when you come to [restrictor] plate tracks. Typically we have the smallest brakes on the car that we run all year long, so pit road is also trouble. So the fact they widened that 10 or 12 feet is really nice.”
Media and fan interest also is accelerated. A portion of Daytona’s grandstands was open for public viewing both Wednesday and Thursday and television cameras weren’t the only ones being wielded. “It's real important,” Labonte said of public and media fanfare. “They have a section open for the fans. They can come down here and see us drafting. I'm sure they've got their cameras out showing video to their buddies now on who-knows-where it's all at. It's the first time we've been to the new facility. That's exciting.”
It’s worth noting that this week’s test was confirmation, not a search process. Stucker said a tight calendar meant Goodyear officials did the bulk of their compound research testing at Daytona’s sister track, Talladega Superspeedway, also the only other restrictor-plate track on NASCAR’s three national series’ calendars. Drivers, teams and track and NASCAR officials all draw natural comparisons off Talladega, which was repaved prior to its fall 2006 event. The completion of a test asphalt strip at Daytona allowed Goodyear officials to gather additional data, which Stucker said was compared to August’s test results at Talladega. “We're well into production for the 500,” Stucker said. “In fact, we're just about done. We've come down here and really confirmed that all those decisions we made were the right ones. Very glad to hear that all the guys are comfortable with our setup and really everything we've seen so far has been very good from our perspective, very consistent, a lot of good comments from the drivers.”(NASCAR)
AND 197.5 mph Eighteen drivers from six teams, including Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya, took part in the test. Some teams brought cars and engines from last season. Others tested their latest and greatest technology, including ethanol-blended fuel. All the teams used a slightly smaller restrictor plate than the one bolted on engines at Daytona last season. The top speed was 197.5 mph, and NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said officials will evaluate testing results before deciding whether to reduce the plate even further. "We may need to come down a little bit off of that, which would be like a 64th of an inch or something," Pemberton said. "We'll have to go back and talk to the teams and we'll look at the speeds from the last two days of testing."(Associated Press)(12-16-2010)

Some Day 1 testing news/photos from Daytona: Statement From NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton About Goodyear Tire Test At Daytona International Speedway: "It was a very good day. The teams came well-prepared. Goodyear came well-prepared. The racetrack has a lot of grip. The surface is very smooth. It appears in drafting practice that they immediately went three-wide."(NASCAR)
AND Mark Martin awarded high marks to all parties after Day One of a Goodyear tire test at Daytona International Speedway today. Speaking to Sirius NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody, Martin said, "I think we ran six laps without even wearing the sticker off the left front tire. In fact, we could probably run the full 500 miles on the same set of tires. There will be zero tire issues during Speedweeks. The track is smooth, its fast and it's not wearing the tires at all. The grip is obscene, and I'm sure the guys from Goodyear are probably having a party tonight." Martin also offered his prediction for the upcoming Daytona 500, saying, "The race is going to be crazy. Everybody better start getting ready right now." Sources say speeds were in the neighborhood of 195 mph, with three-wide (and some four-wide) racing common. "we ran three-wide quite a bit," said Martin, "and toward the end, we got a little braver and tried four-wide. That's not going to work for very long before someone gets into the side of the guy next to him and causes a wreck." Only one major incident slowed the day's test, when David Ragan crashed his Roush-Fenway Racing UPS Ford. (Sirius Speedway)
IMAGES: see some images from Day 1 of testing by Motorsports Images and Archives on my December 2010 Daytona Testing page(12-15-2010)

Teams, drivers lined up for Daytona test TODAY: The Goodyear tire test scheduled for next week at the repaved Daytona International Speedway is an important one for data gathering but not so important that all teams will attend to help the tire manufacturer confirm which tire would perform best for the Daytona 500. Plans for teams and drivers can still change before the Dec. 15-16 test on the new surface, but tentatively only four drivers from this year's Chase For The Sprint Cup- #24-Jeff Gordon #22-Kurt Busch, #31-Jeff Burton and #17-Matt Kenseth - say they plan on participating. Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Robby Gordon Motorsports are not planning on attending the test, which had been tentatively scheduled for Dec. 7-8. NASCAR will have an open test for all teams Jan. 20-22, and all teams are expected to attend that session. For some teams the test will be vital. Penske Racing drivers #22-Kurt Busch and #2-Brad Keselowski will get their first chance to be on a restrictor-plate track with the new Dodge nose. All three 2010 winless Hendrick Motorsports drivers - #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #24-Jeff Gordon and #5-Mark Martin will be there - to gather data and be with their new crew chiefs as well. Five-time defending Cup champion #48-Jimmie Johnson will not attend. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing will be there with #1-Jamie McMurray and #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, while Kenseth and #6-David Ragan will represent Roush Fenway Racing. Burton and #27-Paul Menard will be there for Richard Childress Racing. Other drivers expected to attend are #47-Bobby Labonte (JTG Daugherty Racing), #83-Reed Sorenson (Red Bull Racing), #78-Regan Smith (Furniture Row Racing), #21-Trevor Bayne (Wood Brothers Racing), #13-Casey Mears (Germain Racing), #64-Todd Bodine (Gunselman Motorsports) and #92-Brian Keselowski (K-Automotive Motorsports).(Scene Daily)(12-8-2010)
AND no word if any speeds will be reported but the Goodyear tire test will be open to the public with free access to the Oldfield Grandstands through the lobby of the Daytona International Speedway ticket office. And on Thursday at 12noon/et a press conference will be streamed live on daytonainternationalspeedway.com.(12-15-2010)

Front Row testing: Tony Raines will be one of hte FRM drivers who will test on Thursday when the three teams of Front Row Motorsports test at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA.(Breaking Limits/FRM)(10-20-2010)

Pre-Season testing at Daytona in January: Daytona International Speedway’s new racing surface will receive its NASCAR christening next January, during a three-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test. The session, known as NASCAR Preseason Thunder, is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20 through Saturday, Jan. 22. Sunday, Jan. 23 is the rain date. The 2011 edition of NASCAR Preseason Thunder will help teams acclimate to the new pavement, plus speed their preparation for the 53rd Daytona 500 on Feb. 20 – the series’ traditional season-opener. The repaving project – only the second in track history and first since 1978 – began immediately after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on July 3. All NASCAR Preseason Thunder sessions begin at 9:00am/et and end at 5:00 pm/et, weather permitting. Each includes a lunch break from noon until 1:00pm/et.
Fans seeking to attend can do so at the NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest at Daytona – the companion event to the January test. Along with watching NASCAR Preseason Thunder track activity from Daytona’s Sprint FANZONE, fans can enjoy two Fan Fest sessions – from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 21 and from 5-7 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 22. Driver question-and-answer and autograph sessions are planned. Tickets for the NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest are $20. Fans also can watch each day’s testing at no cost from a section of the Oldfield Grandstands. Teams from the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series are expected to receive extra practice time during Speedweeks to get acclimated to the track’s new surface.
Tickets for both the NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fests and the Roar Before The Rolex 24 are available online at daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.(NASCAR & DIS)(10-9-2010)

Testing at the Rock: hearing several teams testing at Rockingham Speedway today [Wednesday], including #77-Sam Horonish Jr., Joey Logano in a Nationwide car and Toyota testing their own car. At Little Rock, the 1/2 mile track at Rockingham, #78-Regan Smith is testing his Cup car and #3-Austin Dillon is testing a Camping World Truck Series truck.(10-6-2010)

January testing back at Daytona? UPDATE: hearing that the Sprint Cup Series will test the new pavement at Daytona International Speedway in January, likely in mid to late January 2011. Supposedly all Sprint Cup teams will be allowed to test. DIS is currently in week 9 of repaving the 2 1/2 mile track.(9-3-2010)
UPDATE: NASCAR Sprint Cup teams have been told that the tentative dates for a test on the new Daytona International Speedway pavement will be Jan. 17-19. NASCAR has not announced when the test would be, but several team officials confirmed the date. Daytona International Speedway is going through its first repaving since prior to the 1979 season and when track officials announced they would repave the track, NASCAR officials said they expected to have a major test. Goodyear officials hope to get a few Cup cars on the track in the weeks prior to the test but have been told not to plan to get on the track before Jan. 1. They have gotten a strip of asphalt from the temporary plant at the Daytona track to examine to determine the traction of the new surface. They hope to have a good idea of what tire will be used in November (SceneDaily)(9-5-2010)

#48 team tests at North Wilkesboro: Fresh off the win at Infineon, Chad Knaus and the Hendricks Motorsports #48 team testest at Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway (NWS). Landon Cassill drove the #48 Chevy and had alot of positive input regarding NWS. "Its a challeging track and it really makes you manage wheel spin", said Cassill. "Its been a real long time, but it is good to be back at NWS. We hope this test bares the fruit we are looking for so we can use Historic NWS often", stated Chad Knaus. "We are very pleased to be working with class organizations like RCR and Hendrick, it really shows what the Historic Speedway has to offer", said Alton McBride Jr. President / Ronald Queen GM. Speedway Associates and Historic NWS will host an open test to all series on July 3rd in preparations for the Fall line up of races, and ending the night with the Southern Truck and Tractor Pullers Association double pulling show.(NWS)(6-24-2010)

Drivers testing at VIR: many Sprint Cup drivers are scheduled to test at Virginia International Raceway on Tuesday, June 1st including #2-Kurt Busch, #43-A.J. Allmendinger, #78-Regan Smith, #29-Kevin Harvick, #31-Jeff Burton, #77-Sam Hornish Jr., #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, #3?-Kevin Conway, #3?-Travis Kvapil and #7-Robby Gordon.(6-1-2010)

More testing at South Carolina road course: hearing that #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #24-Jeff Gordon, #48-Jimmie Johnson, #5-Mark Martin and #18-Kyle Busch are testing today at 2.3 mile Carolina Motorsports Park road course in Kershaw, SC in preparation for the upcoming road course race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.(5-25-2010)

Testing the road course: hearing that #18-Kyle Busch and #5-Mark Martin are testing today at 2.3 mile Carolina Motorsports Park road course in Kershaw, SC in preparation for the upcoming road course race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.(5-24-2010)

Kurt Busch tests at road course: #2-Kurt Busch tested at Virginia International Raceway on Wednesday, May 12th in preparation for next month’s trip out to the Infineon Raceway road course. The team took their “PRS-617” Miller Lite Dodge Charger up to the Alton, Va., road course facility that offers six track configurations. This is the car the team debuted at Infineon last June and also raced at Watkins Glen International last August.(TRPR)(5-13-2010)

Kurt Busch to test at GMP: #2-Kurt Busch, crew chief Steve Addington and crew are expected to be testing again at Gresham Motorsports Park this week (Wednesday, April 21). They are scheduled to be testing their “PRS-709” Miller Lite Dodge Charger. That car debuted at Bristol on March 21 (led most laps and finished third) and will be raced again on May 1 at Richmond.(TRPR)(4-20-2010)

Smith Completes Test Session at Infineon: #78-Regan Smith completed a one-day test session on Wednesday at Infineon Raceway in preparation for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, June 18-20. Smith completed about 60 laps around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in a late-model stock car provided by Chris Cook Performance. Smith placed 30th in his only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visit to Infineon Raceway in 2007. “I’m just trying to refresh my memory of this track after not being here for a few years because there are so many nuances to the different corners,” said Smith. “I grew up karting, so I love road-course racing, and I’m really looking forward to coming back in June.” Smith was coached by road-course veteran Chris Cook, who has also worked with NASCAR drivers Joey Logano and Los Gatos’ AJ Allmendinger, among others. “Regan did fantastic today. He’s just a great athlete with great focus,” said Cook. “He has a great ability to apply what he’s learning, and he actually has plenty of road-course experience. We’re just fine tuning things for race weekend.” For special ticket packages to the Toyota/Save Mart 350, including Kasey’s Korner, the 24 Special and the Jimmie Johnson 4-Pack, call 800-870-RACE or visit infineonraceway.com.(Infineon Raceway)(4-14-2010)

Keselowski Completes Test at Infineon: #12-Brad Keselowski completed a one-day test session on Tuesday at Infineon Raceway in preparation for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, June 18-20. Keselowski completed 50 laps around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in a late-model stock car provided by a Northern California-based raced team. It was Keselowski’s first time on the serpentine circuit. “This is my first time here at Infineon Raceway, and I have to say that this is impressive,” said Keselowski. “The elevation changes make it a blast to drive. Basically I’m trying to prepare myself for when we come back here in June…and we won’t get much practice. It’s exciting to get in the road-course swing.” #78-Regan Smith is scheduled to test Infineon Raceway on Wednesday, also in the same late-model stock car. Smith placed 30th in his only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visit to Infineon Raceway in 2007; this will mark Keselowski’s first race in Sonoma. Smith will be coached by road-course veteran Chris Cook, who has also worked with NASCAR drivers #20-Joey Logano and #43-AJ Allmendinger, among others.(Infineon Raceway)(4-14-2010)

Harvick tests at North Wilkesboro: from a Team Chevy press conference transcript of #29-Kevin Harvick:
YOU'VE BEEN HANGING ON TO THAT POINT LEAD AND MUST BE ANXIOUS TO GET INTO VICTORY LANE
"Actually it's been a decent start to the year, for sure. Obviously we've had a couple of chances to win and haven't quite gotten that done, but the guys are going a great job. We had a long week of testing. We spent a couple of days at Charlotte and one day at North Wilkesboro so hopefully we're ready to go."
ON NORTH WILKESBORO, WHAT DOES THE SURFACE LOOK LIKE? WERE YOU THE ONLY CUP DRIVER THERE? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT?
"The surface is fine. They've done a really good job of cleaning it up. They have a lot still left to do with some of the facility. Obviously they're working on the surface to fix some of the cracks and things, but we were one of the first ones there just trying to feel out exactly what it would be useful for and things like that. But it still wears the tires out and still drives around like I guess it used to. That was the first time I'd ever been there. But they've done a really good job of cleaning everything up and it looks like any other race track."
See photos the Sprint Cup Series test session with Kevin Harvick at North Wilkesboro Speedway at historicnws.com.(3-27-2010)

NASCAR Teams Conclude Two-Day Spoiler Test at Charlotte, all speeds posted: The final day of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series spoiler testing and preparation for the May 30 Coca-Cola 600 concluded at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Jeff Burton, driver of the #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevy, posting the fastest time of the day. Burton's speed of 189.215 paced the 49 cars from 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams who came to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a two-day test session devoted to spoiler work. Spoilers will replace the wings currently on the backs of NASCAR Sprint Cup cars beginning this weekend at Martinsville. Feedback from drivers on the second day of testing echoed the comments from the Tuesday session: the true test of the new spoiler will take place under race conditions.
"Personally I would like to find out more about my car in traffic from someone close to me and how it may affect the car," said four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. "It's not going to be huge, but the first race or two there might be an opportunity at some of the bigger tracks. If you understand the car before anyone else does, you can put someone in a horrible spot and take advantage of them."
"We've had a very productive test and all of the RCR teams have learned a great deal of information," said Burton. "The cars drive a little different and the reality is that the conditions and the tire combination are different than what it was last year. So we're learning new things that we can apply to every race from here out and hoping that our test data will translate well over to race conditions."
"I noticed I didn't have to use as much brake as I normally did, so maybe there's a little more drag in the corner," said David Reutimann, driver of the #00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. "It wasn't like you went out there and said 'Man, this thing is completely different.' It wasn't a night and day deal."
"This is a pretty good place to test," Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, said of Charlotte Motor Speedway. "It's nice and smooth and gives you a good idea of what your mile-and-a-half package is like."
"I really like the spoiler," Edwards continued. "I think it's a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn't seem to make the car feel much different."
The only incident of the day on track took place when the #22 Penske Racing Dodge driven by Justin Allgaier hit the wall, sustaining significant right front damage. Allgaier was unscathed but his car did not continue in the test session.
The top three speeds of the day belonged to Chevrolets, with Burton follwed by Kevin Harvick in the #29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (28.741, 187.885) and Juan Pablo Montoya in the #42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (28.952, 186.516). The top Toyota of the day and fourth fastest overall belonged to Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers in the No. 83 with a time of 29.059 and a speed of 185.829. Richard Petty Motorsports' #43 entry, driven by A.J. Allmendinger, was the fastest Ford of the day and fifth quickest overall with a time of 29.107 and a speed of 185.522.
During the test session, fans were given an opportunity to watch their favorite Sprint Cup drivers from the grandstands, which were open for free. Ticket holders to any Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway were granted special access to watch testing from a VIP area in the infield. Over the lunch break, more than 250 ticket holders also got the chance to participate in a Q&A session with NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch and Marcos Ambrose, and seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher. Tickets and interest-free payment plans are available by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.(CMS)(3-24-2010)

News - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Spoiler Test At Charlotte Motor Speedway – Day 2: Wednesday’s second day of a two-day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway ended with resounding validation as teams prepare to transition from the wing on the rear of their cars to a spoiler. This Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Martinsville Speedway marks the first with spoilers on NASCAR’s new car. The wing-to-spoiler switch was one of several rule changes announced earlier this year.
“I really like the spoiler,” said Carl Edwards, one of several drivers who visited Charlotte’s infield media center on Wednesday. “I think it looks great. I think it’s a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn’t seem to make the car feel much different.”
The spoiler to be used at all tracks except Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will be 64.5 inches in length and four inches tall in the center. It will be affixed at a 70- degree angle and is non-adjustable. Beginning with the April 16-18 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, a 3.5-inch-tall rear-deck fin will be added to the left side of the car. This fin can either be the full length of the deck-lid or a maximum of eight inches short of the spoiler. With the deck lid fin and its length options, the teams will have some flexibility in adjusting rear side force.
"Overall, this was a very good test for us,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “I think the spoiler, plus the rear deck, are going to make the cars ‘racier.’ " The wing replaced the traditional stock-car spoiler on NASCAR’s new car, now in its third fulltime season. NASCAR Sprint Cup teams ran the wing for 93 races, beginning in March 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last week’s spring race at Bristol was the wing’s final event.
“I think the good thing is that there's nothing large or big jumping out at us saying the spoiler is a lot different,” said Jimmie Johnson, the reigning and four-time series champion who visited the media center Wednesday as part of NASCAR’s weekly teleconference (full transcript and audio available at www.nascarmedia.com). “We've just been kind of working on our race car and working as if this was just a normal test and there was no change at the back of the car with a wing versus a spoiler.”
Normalcy, in fact, was one of the many positive reactions emerging from the two-day test. Opportunity is another.“I feel like this is a new opportunity to maybe gain some ground, where before some other teams had an advantage on you,” said David Reutimann. “Now, you got something that’s completely new and it’s kind of a clean sheet of paper for almost everybody. It’s just going to see who can adapt the quickest.”
Crew chief Jimmy Elledge, who oversees driver Scott Speed’s team, concurred. “I look at things like this as a new challenge and a clean sheet of paper for everybody,” Elledge said. “No one really has any experience with this and the quicker you adapt and learn it, maybe you can get the jump on everyone.”
“Teams will adjust accordingly,” Pemberton said. “It won't be the same for everybody, and it'll definitely be something that they'll have to work towards to get their handling packages correct around other cars during the race, but the drivers like the spoiler and are more comfortable with it and the fans seem to like it, too.” “Aesthetically, it makes the cars look better,” said Kurt Busch. “There is some fine-tuning available with the rear-deck fin and that's pretty cool. We'll have a couple of races with the spoiler under our belts before we get to Texas and that will be our first big test with it."
This week’s Charlotte test follows last week’s one-day session at Talladega Superspeedway, where approximately 24 teams worked spoilers along with mechanical issues for the April 25 event at Talladega. The Charlotte test addressed only the spoiler. Both the Charlotte and Talladega tests are exceptions to the current testing policy. For the second consecutive season, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams may not test at facilities that host national-series events. This year, teams may test at tracks that host regional touring series events, but not national series events. (NASCAR)(3-24-2010)

NASCAR Teams Test New Spoiler in Preparation for May 30 Coca-Cola 600: More than 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams put 49 cars on track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first day of a two-day test session devoted to spoiler work and preparation for the May 30 Coca-Cola 600. Spoilers will replace the current wings on the backs of NASCAR Sprint Cup cars beginning this weekend at Martinsville. The test at Charlotte Motor Speedway gives teams and officials the opportunity to fine-tune variables. Across the board drivers agreed that the spoiler helped with the handling of the car, but that the true test of the change from the wing to the spoiler would take place once the cars got on track during race conditions. Robin Pemberton, vice president for competition with NASCAR, said that the test at Charlotte Motor Speedway would likely be the only test for the new spoiler on a 1.5-mile track. "Right now drivers are confident their teams have done the right things and done their homework," he said. "Our hats are off to the teams. They've done a good job of being prepared for this." During the test session, fans were given an opportunity to watch their favorite Sprint Cup drivers from the grandstands, which were open for free. Ticket holders to any Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway were granted special access to watch testing from a VIP area in the infield. Over the lunch break, more than 200 ticket holders also got the chance to participate in a Q&A session with drivers Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton, and John Darby, NASCAR's managing director of competition.
Day two of the test session will take place Wednesday from 9:30 am to 3:00pm/et. The VIP fan seating area located behind pit road near Victory Circle will be open from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for 2010 Charlotte Motor Speedway Sprint Cup race ticket holders. A fan forum with NASCAR drivers Kurt Busch and Marcos Ambrose, and NHRA driver Tony Schumacher is scheduled to take place on pit road between 12:15 and 1:00pm/et. Grandstands will be open from 9:00 am to 3:00pm/et free of charge to all fans. Tickets and interest-free payment plans are available by calling the speedway ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.(CMS)(4-23-2010)

Charlotte Motor Speedway Opens Sprint Cup Series Test to Fans UPDATES & SPEEDS: Fans will have the opportunity to see their favorite drivers in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in 2010 during Sprint Cup Series testing March 23-24. The test will be held for the new spoiler that will soon replace the rear wing on the current Sprint Cup Series car. Ticket holders to any 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway including the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 22, the Coca-Cola 600 on May 30 and the NASCAR Banking 500 on Oct. 16, will be granted special access to watch testing from the infield. The VIP seating area located behind pit road near Victory Circle will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Ticket holders will also have the opportunity to take part in a question and answer forum with available drivers; meet Miss Sprint Cup during an autograph session in Victory Circle; and take their picture with the Charlotte Motor Speedway show car. Concessions and souvenirs will be available in the infield. More info at charlottemotorspeedway.com.(CMS PR)(3-16/22-2010)
UPDATE: Justin Allgaier in the #22 Penske Racing Dodge, there are two teams at the test today that aren’t running full time in Sprint Cup – #21-Wood Brothers Racing with driver Bill Elliott and #32 Braun Racing with Reed Sorenson. There are 41 cars with 42 drivers participating in the test. David Gilliland and Kevin Conway are sharing the #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford. Six teams that have run every race thus far in 2010 are NOT at the test today – #36 Tommy Baldwin Racing (Mike Bliss), #87 Nemco Motorsports (Joe Nemechek), 355 & #66 Prism Motorsports (two cars – Michael McDowell/Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney), #26 Latitude 43 Motorsports (Boris Said/David Stremme) and #90 Keyed-Up Motorsports (Casey Mears). The test session is designed to give teams the opportunity to test the spoiler, which replaces the rear wing beginning this weekend at Martinsville.(SceneDaily), see images fo the cars testing with the spoiler at the Motor Racing Network site or Charlotte Motor Speedway site.
Test Speeds: #42-Montoya was fastest in the morning session at 185.976mph followed by #77-Hornish Jr., #00-Reutimann, #83-Vickers and #1-McMurray. See all the speeds run below:
Afternoon Speeds: #98-Paul Menard was the fastest in the afternoon session with a speed of 185.312 followed by #42-Montoya, #39-Newman, #1-McMurray and #48-Johnson.(3-23-2010)

Test at Talladega Open To The Public: Talladega Superspeedway officials announced that the NASCAR Test Session on March 16 will be open to the public. This will give fans their first glimpse of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars circling the track using the new spoiler while confirming the restrictor plate size and gear ratio for the Aaron’s 499 race on April 25. It will also give fans the opportunity to experience the renovated frontstretch grandstands. Parking lots open at 8:30 am with the test officially kicking off at 9:00 am. The event is free to the public and food and beverages will be permitted. For questions on permissible items ot tickets for the 2010 Aaron’s Dream Weekend, please contact the Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office at 1-877-Go2-DEGA or www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.(TSS)(2-24-2010)

Drivers Test at New Smyrna: Tuesday Marcos Ambrose tested his #47 Kroger NASCAR at the half-mile high-banked New Smyrna Speedway. Preparing for his second full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, the Australian driver shared the track today with #13-Max Papis, #00-David Reutimann and #5-Martin Truex Jr. It's the first time Ambrose has been in a car in over two months. "I just want to dust off the cobwebs," said Ambrose.(MarcosAmbrose.com)(1-27-2010)

Kesekowski tests in Texas: hearing Brad Keselowski tested the #12 Penske Racing Dodge at Texas World Speedway in College Station, TX this week.(1-8-2010)