Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams will get additional track time at Kansas Speedway this week to test setups following the track repaving. Sprint Cup teams will test 2:00-6:00pm/et on Wednesday and 9:30am-12:30pm/et on Thursday. Nationwide teams will test Thursday 2:00-6:00pm/et. Any news and/or results will be posted.(10-17-2012)
UPDATE: So what will come of all those notes Jeff Gordon’s #24 Hendrick Motorsports team accumulated over the last 12 years at Kansas? Into the recycling bin they go. After a two-hour Kansas test session that was delayed by rain, Gordon a two-time Kansas winner said he won ‘t rely on past experiences at the 1.5-mile oval. The four-time series champion said the track’s recently completed repave project that placed fresh asphalt and variable banking in the turns added a certain mystique to Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, the sixth race in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
There is one guarantee come Sunday: Speed. Of the 47 cars that tested Wednesday afternoon at Kansas, 30 of them turned a faster lap than the current track qualifying record of 180.856 mph set by #17-Matt Kenseth in 2005. #16-Greg Biffle turned the fastest lap of the test session at 184.900 (29.205 seconds).
Among the 47 cars that tested, four were the redesigned 2013 models. The teams testing the 2013 cars were Michael Waltrip Racing, Penske Racing, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Wood Brothers Racing.
Kansas Speedway is the third of three 2012 repaves, joining Michigan International Speedway and Pocono Raceway. Drivers and NASCAR officials alike said they expect the racing grooves to multiply as more rubber accumulates, a phenomenon that made Pocono and Michigan one of the more competitive events of the season. Testing at Kansas will continue Thursday morning from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT.(NASCAR)(10-17-2012)
