Goodyear will hold a closed tire test at Charlotte Motor Speedway next week. Four drivers are scheduled to take part in the test: #78-Martin Truex Jr., #3-Austin Dillon, #1-Jamie McMurray, and #44-Brian Scott. The test is closed to fans.(Charlotte Motor Speedway)(3-5-2016)
UPDATE: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are scheduled to take part in a two-day Goodyear tire test Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8-9, at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the second of eight tire tests scheduled by Goodyear officials and NASCAR for 2016 as part of the 2016 Unified Testing plan. Goodyear officials have said the overall tire selections for 2016 with the lower downforce rules package have thus far resulted in slightly softer compounds for tire builds. ‘Obviously we test, we look at all the data, we look at temperatures ‘¦ lap times, but we’re not just trying to go as fast as we can,’ said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear. ‘We’re also trying to make sure that we get as much feedback from the drivers as we can to make sure we’re landing in the right spot. Goodyear tire tests are also scheduled for Richmond, Pocono, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, Michigan and New Hampshire this season.(NASCAR.com)(3-8-2016)
UPDATE2: Four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers took part in the second Goodyear Tire test of the season with the lower-downforce aerodynamic package on Tuesday and Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray, Brian Scott and Martin Truex Jr. participated in the test to help set tire recommendations for races at the speedway in May. The test was the second consecutive at a 1.5-mile track following the January session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the Sprint Cup Series competed last weekend. At one point during the test, teams put on the tires they raced with at Charlotte last season to compare to the new tires. The tire that the teams ran last year was the same left-side they’ve run at Charlotte since 2012 and the right-side made its debut in May 2015.
‘It’s similar to Vegas,’ McMurray said. ‘The new tires have quite a bit more grip. Speeds have been up from last year. We went through quite a few different sets of tires, and everything seems to have good grip and a pretty good amount of fall-off after 15-20 laps. It’s been a good test. We found two or three sets I think will race really well.’ Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of the most temperature-sensitive racetracks on the circuit and the test was held in temperatures in the high 70s. ‘There are a lot of unknowns when you come to Charlotte this time a year,’ McMurray said. ‘It could be 25 degrees or it could be 80. The fact that it was warm helped Goodyear and the teams because the track did slow down quite a bit yesterday afternoon.’(Motor Racing Network)
