NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Wet Track Delays Testing
Overnight ice delaying test runs at Charlotte Motor Speedway…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted January 18, 2013   Concord, NC
Track drying is currently in session at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Sprint Cup teams are still waiting as they try to get in some test laps with the new Gen-Six race car at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Thursday’s test schedule was washed out by rain, and Friday’s has been delayed because the track is still wet. Ice apparently formed behind some of the track’s SAFER barriers overnight, and melting has kept portions of the track surface wet.

Officials hope to have the track in condition for test runs before noon.

The tests are critical because the cars are new and much of the season’s schedule is on 1.5-mile tracks similar to CMS.

Almost 40 Cup teams tested the new cars for portions of three days last week at Daytona International Speedway, but the CMS tests will be different because of variations in how restrictor-plate and intermediate-track cars are built.

NASCAR and many of the participating drivers expressed satisfaction with the performance of the new cars at Daytona, where drafting speeds approached 200 miles per hour.

Trevor Bayne had the top drafting speed of 199.650 miles per hour. Greg Biffle had the fastest single-car run at 194.936.

More than 30 drivers are expected to participate in Friday’s test.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 31 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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