Paul Tracy acted a bit surprised at the group of media members assembled outside the Richard Childress Racing transporter Tuesday during the break in testing at Michigan International Speedway. Even though he was all business during the two-day test, he had time to joke with reporters about all the attention he was receiving for his two-day venture into testing stock cars. “Hey guys, Jeff’s transporter is over there,” joked the 2003 Champ Car World Series champion, as he was referring to the transporter of four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon who normally gets plenty of attention from the media. Tracy, along with Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and a slew of NASCAR Busch Series teams completed the second day of testing in preparation for the upcoming GFS Marketplace 400 and Domino’s Pizza 250 race weekend at MIS. While Tracy completed his second day of incident-free testing, Gordon joined the test session on Tuesday, where he was looking to get back on track and make the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. After completing the test, it will be up to Richard Childress and team management to see if he will return next week to attempt to qualify for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series GFS Marketplace 400. Other drivers who completed laps on the MIS oval included Dale Jarrett in the #88 UPS Ford, Jeremy Mayfield in the #19 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge, Sterling Marlin in the #40 Coors Light Dodge and Carl Edwards, who tested his Busch Series car, the #60 Charter Communications Ford.
Others NASCAR Busch Series drivers included Paul Menard in the #11 Menard’s Chevrolet, J.J. Yeley in the #18 Vigoro/Home Depot Chevrolet, Denny Hamlin in the #20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet, Ashton Lewis Jr. in the #25 U.S. Marines Ford, Reed Sorenson in the #41 Discount Tire Dodge and Justin Labonte in the #44 U.S. Coast Guard Chevrolet, who was also joined by #87 Joe Nemechek on Tuesday only.
Tickets are still available for the NASCAR Busch Series Domino’s Pizza 250 on Saturday, August 20, and the ARCA RE/MAX Series Hantz Group 200 on Friday, August 19. Children 12 and under admitted free to both events. Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series activities include NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series qualifying, along with a concert by the country sensation Sugarland following the Domino’s Pizza 250. All tickets can be purchased now by visiting www.MISpeedway.com or by calling the MIS ticket hotline at 1-800-354-1010.(MIS PR)(8-10-2005)
