Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage has given NASCAR an open invitation for further testing in preparation for the TMS debut of the new Sprint Cup Series car at the upcoming Samsung 500. The new Sprint Cup Series car, formerly known as the “Car of Tomorrow,” is making its first appearance at 1.5-mile ovals this season, and Gossage would like to provide additional testing time after watching the car’s debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile oval this past weekend. There was an abundance of on-track incidents during practice and qualifying, a track-record 11 cautions on race day and some driver concerns regarding their April 4-6 visit to Texas Motor Speedway for the Samsung 500 race week. For the time being, however, Gossage is encouraging NASCAR to give the competitors an additional opportunity to test at Texas Motor Speedway prior to the Samsung 500 because the only testing on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval came in the form of a two-day Goodyear tire test Jan. 15-16 with Juan Pablo Montoya and Clint Bowyer. Gossage is open to a test session in the coming weeks, opening the speedway Wednesday (April 2) of race week for a practice session or expanding the race week schedule Thursday (April 3) to add a Cup practice to the Nationwide Series’ practice and qualifying for the O’Reilly 300.(TMS PR) UPDATE: NASCAR says it will keep an eye on the car’s performance at Texas before determining whether any additional track time is necessary. As for an additional test, the sanctioning body’s answer is clear-cut. “The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is testing in Phoenix [Tuesday] and will test at Pocono and Charlotte later this year,” series spokesman Ramsey Poston said Tuesday. “There are no plans to add tests at this time.” Sprint Cup teams also tested at Daytona, California, and Las Vegas in addition to the session this week in Phoenix and those upcoming at Pocono and Charlotte. Texas officials lobbied NASCAR for an open test, but did not receive one. But Gossage still holds out hope that NASCAR will change its mind. The track president also sent an overnight letter to NASCAR president Mike Helton outlining his concerns about racing at Texas without a test.(NASCAR.com)(3-4-2008)
