The Nationwide Series begins a new era when its new car goes on track for the first of two scheduled tests Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 8-9, at Richmond International Raceway. Wednesday, Sept. 10, will be a rain date. Each of the four series manufacturers Chevy, Dodge, Ford and Toyota will be permitted to bring two cars. The drivers are to be announced but will be representative of their specific manufacturer. The goal of this test is for the manufacturers and participating teams to start laying a foundation for the transfer phase from the current car to the new car in the Nationwide Series, said Robin Pemberton, NASCARs vice president of competition. The cars will be on track in their current stages of development and the test data will be shared among the manufacturers, teams and NASCAR.(NASCAR PR)(9-4-2008)
UPDATE: A tentative lineup of drivers has been announced for the two-day Nationwide Series new car test scheduled to begin Monday at Richmond International Raceway. Chevy tentatively will have Scott Wimmer (Richard Childress Racing) and Morgan Shepherd (Davis Motorsports). Ford will have Matt Kenseth (Roush Fenway Racing). Dodge will have Bryan Clauson (Chip Ganassi Racing), and Toyota will have a couple of Michael Waltrip Racing cars with David Reutimann, Josh Wise and Kyle Busch sharing the driving duties.(SceneDaily.com)(9-5-2008)
UPDATE 2: Currently scheduled to participate:
TOYOTA (Michael Waltrip Racing car)
Kyle Busch (Monday only)
David Reutimann (Monday and Tuesday)
CHEVY (Richard Childress Racing car)
Morgan Shepherd (Monday and Tuesday)
Scott Wimmer (Monday and Tuesday)
Kevin Harvick (Monday partial day only)
DODGE (Chip Ganassi Racing car)
David Stremme (Monday and Tuesday)
FORD (Roush Racing car)
David Ragan (Monday and Tuesday)
Carl Edwards (Monday only)
Eric Darnell (Tuesday only)
Collin Braun (Tuesday only)
(RIR PR)(9-7-2008)
UPDATE 3: Monday, the new car made its official debut. This is a new project for the Nationwide Series so theres an unknown until you get (the car) to the racetrack, [Series director Joe] Balash said. Now we have it at the track and its been very well-received. The four series manufacturers Chevy, Dodge, Ford and Toyota were represented by five teams. Bryan Clauson was the first driver to take a lap for Dodge and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Tuesdays second day of testing has been re-scheduled for a morning-only session since the data gathered Monday by the manufacturers and teams was sufficient. The threat of rain in the afternoon was also a factor. The NASCAR Nationwide Series new car is also set to test at Lowes Motor Speedway Oct. 13-14.(NASCAR PR), see the complete release and some images on my Richmond COT Testing Page.(9-8-2008)
UPDATE 3: Some additional images have been added to the Richmond COT Testing page.(9-9-2008)
