Tire Testing at Indy Monday & Tuesday UPDATE: Sources in the NASCAR garage said that Goodyear would use #20-Tony Stewart, #9-Kasey Kahne and #38-Elliott Sadler to test tires at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. It is the fourth such test for Goodyear this season. The tire manufacturer also had closed tests at Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte. Being picked for tire tests is becoming increasingly competitive, as NASCAR rules limit testing to just six tracks.(more at NASCAR.com)(4-22-2006)
UPDATE: NEXTEL Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler took part in a private Goodyear test April 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, helping the tire company prepare for the 13th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Each driver was picked to represent the three manufacturers in NEXTEL Cup: Chevrolet (Stewart), Dodge (Kahne) and Ford (Sadler). The trio will test again April 25. The drivers focused on assisting Goodyear in finding the right combination of tires to bring back for the race on Sunday, Aug. 6. We just tested like we always do every week, Stewart said. Its no different than anywhere we go every week, youve just got to go do work. Its awesome to be here in the spring and not be sweating like crazy, and be able to do a tire test before it gets busy in the month of May here. Asked if the test gives him an advantage toward defending his Allstate 400 victory, Stewart said: We spent all day running sets of tires that they wanted us (Goodyear) to run. We didnt really get a chance to work on the car like the open test session (in July) would be. We just go out and do consistent 10-lap runs, give them feedback.
Kahne said the test is crucial for his Evernham Motorsports team. We can get a lot (of information), he said. We dont know which tire well choose (at the race) so were not sure there, but we have a new team and to throw different setups at it in the morning, use it through out the day, its been a good test for us.
Sadler, who has frequently expressed his love of IMS and desire to win the race over the years, was excited about the possibilities for the 2006 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. We had a good time today, Sadler said. I think Goodyear has brought us a lot of good possibilities to come back with, something fun to race with. We tried a lot of different constructions, a lot of different compounds. All in all, we saw great tire wear. Goodyear was happy what they saw, and were happy what we saw. It was a great day at Indy. Indy is such a big race for us. Other than the Daytona 500, its the biggest race for the drivers, and everybody wants to kiss the bricks. Its a big race for our sponsors, and we have so many fans here and so much heritage here were concentrating on this race a lot. To be able to bring a car that were probably going to race here, a couple months early get some laps, take it home and fine-tune it and test it again, I think its kind of an advantage for the three teams here today.(IMS PR)(4-25-2006)
