NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: High Winds, High Drama
The Chase moves on to a ‘new’ Kansas Speedway this week…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted October 16, 2012   Charlotte, NC
There might be Wizard of Oz weather in Kansas this week.

High winds – and generally cooler weather – are predicted for much of the week at and around Kansas Speedway as NASCAR visits for the fifth race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and for two key days of test runs on the newly repaved racing surface.

Wind also was a factor at the track in April as Denny Hamlin won the STP 400 on the tour’s first seasonal visit to Kansas.

The bigger issue this week, however, will be the track’s new foundation and racing surface. The track was ripped up after the April 22 race and repaved. Beyond the new asphalt, there also is new geometry. The track’s 15-degree banking was changed to progressive banking that begins at 17 degrees and grows to 20 degrees at the outside wall.

To give teams plenty of time to adjust to the new surface, NASCAR has scheduled four hours of testing Wednesday afternoon and four more hours Thursday morning. By the time drivers take the green flag for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, thousands of laps will have been run on the fresh track.

It will be a new world, especially for veteran drivers like Jeff Gordon, who has run every Cup race at the facility. Gordon won the track’s first two Cup events in 2001 and 2002.

“This is a trip to the unknown,” Gordon said. “I’ll get my first look at the changes on Wednesday, so I really don’t know what to expect until then.”

The track was resurfaced because harsh winter weather had accelerated the “breaking apart” of the track where the paving seams met, and parts of the surface were coming up in chunks during competition.

“I liked the old surface, but I’m sure there were reasons – whether it was the foundation or the construction, the track needed a repave,” Gordon said. “Whatever they put in front of us, we’ll just do our best as a team to adapt to it and make the car as fast as possible on the new surface.”

Hendrick Motorsports teams enter the Kansas week with a little background. Team driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among the drivers who participated in a Goodyear tire test at the track in August. Although Earnhardt Jr. eventually left the test after crashing hard – ironically, that wreck and another two weeks ago at Talladega will prevent him from racing at Kansas Sunday, data recorded during the August runs will assist the Hendrick teams in preparations for this week.

“The 88 team participated in the tire test, so we have data from them,” said Alan Gustafson, Gordon’s crew chief. “We’ve been able to run simulations using that data in preparation for the rest. But Wednesday’s test with Jeff’s feedback will tell us so much more.

“It’s a two-stage process. We’ll try to work on some developmental setups to gain grip and speed. If – and when – we find some grip, we will then focus on balancing the car out in that configuration.”

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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