rebelracewriter Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 Texas Motor Speedway Media Relations, (817) 215-8520 CONTACT: Sarona Winfrey Gary Guehler -- For Immediate Release BETTER RACING PREDICTED AFTER TEXAS TEST FORT WORTH-DALLAS (March 4, 2003) – Many questions still remain following the second day of testing at Texas Motor Speedway Tuesday for teams preparing for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race March 30 and the March 29 O’Reilly 300 NASCAR Busch Series event. But participants agree on one matter – look for slightly slower race speeds but greatly increased competition levels. Drivers universally noted that the asphalt surface of Texas Motor Speedway has lost a little grip from the 2002 season that resulted in slightly slower test speeds. But all five drivers agreed that this process should produce better racing for the fans in three weeks. Johnny Benson tested a pair of Valvoline Pontiac Winston Cup cars during the session. Busch Series drivers taking to the speedway were Scott Wimmer in the Stacker 2/Stamina RX Chevy, Kerry Earnhardt in the Supercuts Chevy, rookie David Reutimann in the Hills Bros. Coffee Chevy and Joe Nemechek who helped set up Reutimann’s car. “Slower is better,” said speedway general manager Eddie Gossage. “The asphalt is maturing just as we hoped it would. If race speeds are in the low to mid-180 mph range, the fans will see even greater competition here. This is great news!” Benson and crew chief James Ince debuted a brand new Valvoline Pontiac and tested one of the team’s other intermediate speedway cars. Benson ran in race configuration and posted a top lap of 186 mph. Bill Elliott set a new track record of 194.224 mph last year in qualifying for the Samsung/RadioShack 500. “We are about a half-second slower than last year,” said Benson. “That is very good, it will make the racing better for the fans. The cars feel good, this is our first time on a high-banked mile-and-a-half speedway, but the new bodies do produce more downforce than last year.” Nemechek took his team’s Hills Bros. Coffee and Cellular One Busch Series Chevrolets out in the morning to assist Reutimann in preparing for his day of testing. Nemechek logged laps in the 183 mph area while Reutimann followed up later in the day and posted 182 mph circuits, all in race setups. Jeff Green sat on the pole for last year’s O’Reilly 300 Busch Series race at 193.493 mph. “NASCAR allowed me to come and set a chassis baseline for David,” said Nemechek. “I would say the track may be three-quarters of a second slower. It has lost some of its grip from last season.” Earnhardt and the Supercuts Chevy Busch team had to recover from a Monday meeting with the second-turn wall. “We gained a lot on it today,” commented Earnhardt. “The car we are testing is the one we raced at Las Vegas, it is pretty quick. “The asphalt is a year older and it is slower than last year, a little bit, because the track doesn’t have as much grip as it did last year. Before you heard drivers flat-footing it through the corners here, I don’t think you will hear that any more.” “Test Week” concludes Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway. The sessions are closed to the public. Frontstretch tickets for the O’Reilly 300 NASCAR Busch Series race are on sale daily at the speedway, by calling the ticket hotline at (817) 215-8500, online at www.texasmotorspeedway.com and at Ticketmaster locations. Season tickets are still available that offer the same frontstretch seat for all six races at Texas Motor Speedway, including the March 30 Samsung/RadioShack 500. # # # Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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