On Wednesday, July 15, select drivers will participate in a NASCAR open test at Chicagoland Speedway. Drivers scheduled to participate include: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #42-Kyle Larson, #16-Greg Biffle, #9-Sam Hornish Jr., #11-Denny Hamlin, #21-Ryan Blaney, #23-JJ Yeley, #3-Austin Dillon, #78-Martin Truex Jr., #41-Kurt Busch, #15-Clint Bowyer, #51-Justin Allgaier and #2-TBD. The test will be open to all fans who have a September Chicagoland Sprint Cup race ticket. Gate 4 opesn at 1:30pm/ct for parking. The CLS Legends Club Suites will be open 2:00-5:00pm local time. The test is subject to change due to weather or other circumstances.(Chicagoland Speedway)(7-9-2015)
UPDATE: A number of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams completed a one-day open test session at Chicagoland Speedway on Wednesday. The test followed-up a two-day Goodyear tire test that featured #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., #78-Martin Truex Jr., #9-Sam Hornish Jr. and #23-JJ Yeley. “We spent most of Monday working in our regular 2015 configuration,” Hornish Jr. said. “Yesterday was spent mostly in the Kentucky setup. I did two runs with the Michigan-Indy option, but that was with the wheel force car.” Today’s test session gave teams an option to run different configurations like in the tire test. But Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t think the low-downforce rules package that was used at Kentucky will make an appearance at Chicagoland Speedway when NASCAR kicks off the Chase for the Sprint Cup”¦at least for this season.
“I don’t think they’ll run here,” Earnhardt said. “We may run it here soon down the road. Coming here for a three-day test, we went through tires for Goodyear. They mandated that all the cars put that little spoiler on the second day. That told me they were thinking about running that low downforce here. And then we saw the tires tearing up, we tore up some right front tires. Martin (Truex Jr.) tore up one, I tore up one, the “9′ tore up one, and when Goodyear sees that, the red flag comes out and you have to slow down and there’s just not enough time to really prepare for the right tire and get it on the car and get it ready for the Chase. I think we’ll run the 2015 current package that we’ve run all year here and who knows if we’ll have it next year.”
While teams were on different agendas in the garage, Austin Dillon ran all three packages and paced the afternoon session with a lap time of 29.497 seconds (183.069 mph). Dillon tested the higher-drag package that will be used at both Indianapolis (July 26) and Michigan (Aug. 16), which includes a nine-inch spoiler and one-inch wicker bill, to gather data. Denny Hamlin was second fastest in the afternoon (180.923 mph) with Earnhardt Jr. in third (180.626 mph). Brad Keselowski, who is the defending winner at Chicagoland, was fourth quick in the afternoon with a lap time of 29.906 seconds (180.566 mph). Overall, 12 drivers participated in the open test. Truex Jr. did not return today following the tire test. Kurt Busch completed the most laps in the afternoon session, at 86. The only incident on the day came in the garage area when the battery in Kyle Larson’s car caught fire and was quickly extinguished.(Motor Racing Network)(7-15-2015)
