Open Testing at Lowe’s Scheduled TUES/WED: Lowe’s Motor Speedway has confirmed open testing dates for the Oct. 13 UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race, the Oct. 12 “Little Trees” 300 NASCAR Busch Series event and the Oct. 10 EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 150 ARCA Series season finale. NASCAR Winston Cup Series Testing is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 3 (8:00am -10:00pm) and Wednesday, Sept. 4 (8:00am – 4:00pm), ARCA on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Busch Series on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and Wednesday, Oct. 2.(LMS PR)(8-20/9-3-2002) UPDATE: no speeds reported, heard the #22-Ward Burton, #29-Kevin Harvick and #77-Dave Blaney were the Cup drivers testing today.(9-3-2002) TUESDAY SPEEDS: #29-Kevin Harvick topped the unofficial speed chart Tuesday as NASCAR Winston Cup teams began preparations for the Oct. 13 UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. With eight teams on hand, the testing session started at 8:00am/et and ran until 10:00pm/et as crews performed an all-day exercise in mechanical engineering, making countless adjustments to their finely tuned machines. Harvick’s #29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet was caught on the unofficial stopwatches at 181.941mph around the 1.5-mile superspeedway. Harvick’s fastest lap came shortly after 7:30pm/et, approximately the same time teams will be on the track during Bojangles’ Pole Night qualifying on Thursday, Oct. 10. Driving a #22 Caterpillar Dodge that was skinned in bare sheet metal, Ward Burton was second fastest at 180.965mph while Greg Biffle was third on the unofficial watches at 180.783mph in the #16 Team Caliber Ford. Biffle, the NASCAR Busch Series point leader, will attempt to qualify for the UAW-GM Quality 500 as the Roush Racing team continues preparations for a full-time Winston Cup assault next season. Two race teams with close ties to Hendrick Motorsports were next on the speed chart as Jack Sprague’s #60 Haas Automation Chevrolet and Ron Hornaday’s #54 National Guard Chevy rounded out the top-five. The starter never unfurled the caution flag as the entire testing session was incident free. Testing continues Wednesday with Winston Cup teams slated to be on the track from 8:00am to 4:00pm/et. Fans can watch the action from the main grandstand beginning at 9:00am/et. Tickets for the Oct. 13 UAW-GM Quality 500 start at just $19 and can be obtained by calling 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com. Unofficial testing speeds: 1. #29-Kevin Harvick, 181.941mph; 2. #22-Ward Burton, 180.965; 3. #16-Greg Biffle, 180.783; 4. #60-Jack Sprague, 179.104; 5. #54-Ron Hornaday Jr., 177.049; 6. #77-Dave Blaney, 176.759; 7. #27-Scott Wimmer, 176.297; 8. #74-Tony Raines, 176.125.(LMS PR)(9-4-2002)
