Gooodyear Tire testing is scheduled on Tuesday, June 18th and Wednesday, June 19th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Sprint Cup drivers scheduled to attend one or both days: #9-Marcos Ambrose, #11-Denny Hamlin, #5-Kasey Kahne and #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(AMS), the test will be closed to the public.(6-14-2013) UPDATE: The first of two days of a Goodyear tire test is underway at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with #5-Kasey Kahne, #9-Marcos Ambrose, #11-Denny Hamlin and #17-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. taking part in Tuesdays portion of the test session. The tire test comes less than 80 days prior to the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR night race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where drivers expect tire wear to be more of a factor than other similar tracks. Goodyear will utilize data gained during the tire test to develop the tire supplied to race teams during Labor Day Weekend.( AMS )(6-19-2013) UPDATE 2: #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., #9-Marcos Ambrose and #21-Trevor Bayne were the drivers taking part in the second and final day of a Goodyear Tire Test on Wednesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway as Goodyear works to develop the tire compound that will be provided to race teams during the AdvoCare 500 NASCAR night race weekend Aug. 30- Sept 1, 2013. The test session saw cars lay down laps at a high rate of speed on the 1.-54-mile quad-oval. The AdvoCare 500 will be the first race at Atlanta Motor Speedway with NASCARs new Gen-6 cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and this weeks tire test was the first time that the Gen-6 was on the track at Atlanta Motor Speedway. ‘I think based on what weve seen is that the new car is definitely faster. I dont know if it is track-record fast, because that was set a long time ago’ said Rick Campbell, NASCAR Project Manager for Goodyear. ‘Its certainly way faster than last years car and I expect the speeds to be significantly faster than last year.” Earnhardt Jr. posted the fastest lap of the day at a speed of 188.69 mph. Earnhardt Jr. and Bayne were substituting for respective teammates, Kasey Kahne and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who took part in the test on Tuesday and flew back to Charlotte to attend the funeral of Jason Leffler. Earnhardt Jr. and Bayne were driving test cars driven by Kahne and Stenhouse on Tuesday.( AMS )
