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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Teams Ready To Try New Daytona 500 Rules At Test
NASCAR Sprint Cup testing begins Thursday and runs through Saturday at Daytona International Speedway...
Kenny Bruce  | http://www.scenedaily.com  |  Posted January 11, 2012   Charlotte, NC
This week's three days of preseason testing are critical as teams prepare for the 2012 season. (Photo: Motorsports Images and Archives)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams head back to the track this week with a three-day test at Daytona International Speedway to officially usher in the start of the 2012 racing season.

The Preseason Thunder test, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday, will give teams a chance to knock off the rust of the offseason, get to know the new faces within their respective groups and put NASCAR’s latest rules changes to the test.

The new package for Daytona features several changes from 2011, each designed to help limit or eliminate the two-car draft that has been prevalent at both Daytona and Talladega in recent years.

“This is an opportunity we are providing to the competitors to implement and test the new Daytona rules package for 2012,” Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, said. “It’s a chance for them to get comfortable with the cooling package, the smaller spoiler and to practice drafting for next month’s Daytona 500.”

Some of the changes are designed to make engines overheat quicker in the two-car draft, forcing drivers to swap drafting positions more often. Teams will use smaller radiators with a maximum capacity of two gallons and a smaller overflow tank (half-gallon maximum capacity). The positioning of the radiator inlet has been moved forward, placing it closer to the front center bumper area.

Other changes will make the cars more difficult to handle in a two-car draft A rate reduction in the spring packages means softer springs and a smaller rear spoiler will provide less downforce on the rear of the cars. And, for now, the restrictor plate will be 1/64th of an inch larger than last year’s plate used in the season-opening Daytona 500.

Toss in the debut of electronic fuel ignition and it’s easy to see why teams are eager to get back on the track to see how the changes will affect the racing.

The package was developed after teams tested several different options at Daytona and Talladega during the latter part of last season.

“This is the first opportunity for the entire field to test together,” Pemberton said, “and get more comfortable with this package as it relates to their cars.”

The opportunity to test, veteran driver Mark Martin said, is “more important for us as a new group working together to work through the areas like communication, flow, learning everyone’s names, routines and things like that."

“That’s really the critical part of the test,” said Martin, who has spent the last three years at Hendrick Motorsports and will run a limited Cup schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing this year. “From the hardware side, we do have a number of things we want to run through at these tests, but all teams are doing those kinds of things. These tests are valuable because we want everything to be working like a smooth oiled machine by the time we get to the Daytona 500. Then, by the time we get to Phoenix, we want to be acting like we’ve been racing together for years.”

Crew chief Rodney Childers said Martin’s No. 55 team will initially focus on qualifying setups “for the first day and a half and drafting the rest of the time.”

“The most important thing is the draft,” Childers said. “Making sure our cars can do what they need to do. We’ll probably work some on cooling to see if our cars can push longer than some of the others.”

NASCAR has designated the morning session Thursday as single-car runs. Teams can draft Thursday afternoon, all day Friday and all day Saturday.

At least three teams will not be taking part in the test – Fas Lane Racing, Front Row Motorsports and JTG Daugherty Racing.

In addition to the on-track activity, the track will once again host a two-day fan fest Thursday and Friday, with autograph and driver question and answer sessions.

Tickets are $20 with children 12 and under admitted free. Fans also can watch for free from the Turn 4 grandstands. For more information, visit the track’s web site at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

SceneDaily.com • Kasey Kahne to Hendrick, bevy of new crew chiefs highlight list of best offseason moves

DAYTONA PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING: During the Jan. 12-14 test sessions at Daytona International Speedway, fans can submit questions and comments through Twitter @SPEED (http://www.twitter.com/speed) using the #daytonatesting hashtag.
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Kenny Bruce

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