More testing at VIR: The challenging 3.27-mile natural-terrain road racing circuit at VIRginia International Raceway has been abuzz with activity this week as a number of NASCAR Winston Cup Series teams have been hard at work perfecting their set-ups for upcoming road races. Among those working at VIR over the past two days have been Joe Gibbs Racing, with the #20 Home Depot Pontiac of Tony Stewart; Petty Enterprises with the #45 Sprint Dodge of Kyle Petty; Andy Petree Racing with the #55 Square D Chevrolet of Bobby Hamilton; MB2 Motorsports with the #36 M&Ms Pontiac of Ken Schrader (so looks like those rumors of Schrader being out of the car are incorrect) and the #10 Valvoline Pontiac of Johnny Benson; Roush Racing with the #99 CITGO Ford of Jeff Burton; Target Chip Ganassi Racing with the #41 Target Dodge of Jimmy Spencer and the #40 Coors Dodge of championship points leader Sterling Marlin; Richard Childress Racing with the #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick; and Bill Davis Racing with the #22 Caterpillar Dodge of Ward Burton and the #23 Hills Bros. Coffee Dodge of Hut Stricklin. The Winston Cup teams, the vast majority of which are based in and around Charlotte, N.C., find it convenient to test at VIR, which is about a two-hour drive from the Charlotte area, and find the circuit suitable to prepare for both the June 23 Dodge/Save Mart 350 at California’s Sears Point Raceway and the Aug. 11 Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen at New York’s Watkins Glen International. Some teams may even use the circuit’s high-speed straightaways and challenging corners to work on their braking system set-ups for short oval tracks like Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway, where braking performance is at a premium.(VIR PR)(6-6-2002)
