In advance of NASCAR’s return to the Rockingham Speedway, Goodyear will be holding tire tests for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and K&N Pro Series East on March 6-7 and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will be on site on April 18. The grandstands will be open to fans free of charge on all three days. This is a great opportunity for race fans to come out and get a taste of what the racing action is going to be like for our two big race weekends this year,” said Rockingham Speedway President Andy Hillenburg. The Camping World Trucks make their debut at the famed one-mile oval on April 15, 2012 in the Good Sam Club Roadside Assistance Carolina 200, presented by Cheerwine.(Rockingham Speedway PR)(2-15-2012)
UPDATE: Drivers who are scheduled to particpate in the tire test are; James Buescher (Turner Motorsports), Jason Leffler (Kyle Busch Motorsports) and Timothy Peters (Red Horse Racing).(NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)(3-4-2012)
UPDATE 2: The Camping World Truck Series competitors took their first 2012 laps at Rockingham Speedway on Tuesday morning, providing feedback to Goodyear engineers about tire choices for the April 15 event. It’s the first NASCAR-sanctioned race at the mile oval since a Sprint Cup/Nationwide doubleheader more than eight years ago. The track has retained its trademark characteristic: a rapid decline in lap times. That harsh fact requires patience by the driver in order to save enough rubber for a charge to the checkered flag. After two days of practice and qualifying, the teams will probably only have one set of fresh, or “sticker,” tires left for the race. “It’s definitely fun when it puts it back in the driver’s seat,” said [Timothy] Peters, a three-time Truck race winner, including the 2010 season opener at Daytona Beach, Fla. “I like it when you try to get the best out of it and treat that gas pedal like an eggshell.” Of the drivers who tested Tuesday, Lefflerhas the most experience at Rockingham Speedway. He made two Sprint Cup starts at the track and competed in five Nationwide events, and he’s hoping to drive a Truck into Victory Lane next month for team owner Kyle Busch. To do so, Leffler knows he must commit to keeping the reins taut until the decisive moment. “When I started out in racing, my crew chief would always say, ‘Race the race track, don’t race everybody else,’ ” said Leffler, a Truck winner at Dover, Del., in 2003. “If you do that – if you just concentrate on racing the race track – you’ll probably have a pretty good day. You’ll have something to work with at the end of the day.” Buescher, who won the 2012 Nationwide Series opener at Daytona on Feb. 24, has run a CARS Pro Cup race at Rockingham, and tested here in three other types of racing vehicles. He said the track will provide multiple racing lines, and predicted that the requisite tire management should produce an exciting event. “I think with the tire fall-off, you’ll have some pit strategy to have the freshest tires at the end of the race,” the Plano, Texas, driver said. He added, “Tire fall-off is big. You have to manage them and keep them under for the end of the race. You’ll be able to pass, but won’t be able to run side by side, lap after lap, during the race . and keep up with the leaders.”(Fayetteville Observer)(3-7-2012)
