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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: No Rest From Tire Tests
Four NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars gave up a vacation day to help Goodyear find the right tire for the Southern 500 at Darlington...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted March 12, 2009   Harrisburg, NC
Jim Hunter served as president of Darlington Raceway earlier in his motorsports career. (Photo: Courtesy of Darlington Raceway)

Although this week is supposed to be one of four off weeks during the marathon NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, not every driver is spending his time relaxing.

Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte and Elliott Sadler spent Wednesday conducting a Goodyear tire test at the historic Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. A similar test last year with Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle was credited for helping Goodyear come up with an improved tire combination for the egg-shaped, 1.3-mile track, the oldest superspeedway in NASCAR.

Darlington’s pavement is now two years old, which should result in better racing and more of the traditional competition at the track, where tires tend to wear quickly and managing that wear becomes a key to victory. And so, while the four drivers doubtless would rather have been on a beach somewhere, they knew how critical it was to provide accurate feedback during testing so that Goodyear can optimize tire selection for the May 9 Southern 500 at Darlington.

For drivers, being selected to participate in the tire test gives them a slight leg up on the competition given NASCAR’s test ban. So the participants in tire tests take the process very seriously.

“They repaved the track last year and you hated to see it in one way but they did a great job and it’s still the same Darlington,” said 2000 Southern 500 winner Bobby Labonte, who has shown surprising pace in his first season behind the wheel of the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford Fusion. “Speeds have picked up, the surface is smoother but the racing is still great and it still means the same thing to win here.”

Kevin Harvick, who on Friday will help SPEED and Lowe’s Motor Speedway announce details about the upcoming Sprint All-Star Race, is looking for his first Darlington triumph. “Well obviously this is a very historic race track that we go to,” he said. “It still has a lot of the characteristics that it’s had for a number of years so to come here and race as a driver in NASCAR, I think that’s something special to everyone in the garage. This is an exciting place for us to race at and to win would be really cool. We’ve been close a couple of times and it would be nice to finally win one.”

“This is a place I got to come to as a kid and watch races because it is not far from where I grew up so to come here and have a chance to win this race is a dream come true,” added Sadler. “I love that we race here, I’m glad it’s a night race, it’s a great event for us and since we only come here once a year we put a lot of effort into running well here because Darlington is still a huge cornerstone in our sport and represents where we’ve been and how far we’ve come.”

Hamlin, a two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series winner at Darlington, is hoping some of his good fortune here rubs off on him in the Cup race. “Darlington is a great racetrack for me, I always run well here,” he said. “It’s a great race track, I love running here and it’s got so much history. You hated to see it get paved but they did a great job doing it and it still promotes great racing. It’s a great track with great history and you love to win here no matter what car you are in.”

Tickets to the 2009 Southern 500, as well as the NASCAR Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the track at 866-459-RACE or online at darlingtonraceway.com/tickets/.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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