Jason Keller, who set a Nationwide Series record last season with his 422nd career start, is testing Gillette Evernham Motorsports’ #98 Dodge Charger at Daytona, an effort tended by test team director Pete Rondeau. “We’re going to run a schedule similar to what we did with the #98, our R&D team, last season,” GEM’s Keith Barnwell said after getting down from Daytona’s spotters’ stand. “At this point, we’re not exactly sure what that schedule will be.” Barnwell said the car wouldn’t participate in the tests at Las Vegas and California due to the logistical difference of “taking a van to Daytona Beach and only being able to put a certain number of people on a plane to the West Coast.” Keller, who has previous Cup starts on his resume in the former “standard car,” as well as a test last season for GEM and one a couple of weeks ago at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in his native South Carolina, said the Car of Tomorrow’s higher profile and center of gravity resulted in as-advertised handling characteristics, but said he appreciated the better forward visibility in the car.(NASCAR.com)(1-8-2008)
