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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
DILLNER: Go Back To Move Forward
With less testing, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are freed up a bit and they’ve been able to do some short-track racing this winter...
Bob Dillner  |  Posted February 04, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Bob Dillner is a reporter for NASCAR Victory Lane, NASCAR Live! and The SPEED Report on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)

The NASCAR off-season officially ends Thursday when technical inspection opens up at Daytona International Speedway, and with it concludes some of the most off-season fun drivers have had in a while. NASCAR’s testing ban not only afforded drivers the opportunity for more leisurely racing and activities, it also gave them the forum to express their gratitude to the short tracks for their contributions to the sport, a great thing in this economic climate.

Although NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams have continued to test at non-NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, they’re not testing as often as in years past. Now that drivers are freed up a bit, they’ve been able to do some short-track racing this winter and I applaud them for giving back to this community.

Guys like Kyle Busch, Bill Elliott, David Ragan and David Stremme have popped up at pavement short tracks throughout the winter, either behind the wheel or in support of their own development teams. They’re doing this independently of sponsor or Cup team obligations – not for publicity reasons.

For the sheer love of racing, Busch, Elliott, Stremme and I took our teams to Lanier (Braselton, Ga.) National Speedway for Speed Fest 2009 a couple of weeks ago for some old-school fun. Elliott, Stremme and I all own development teams. Stremme had an up-and-comer in the car named Matt DiBennedetto and is helping kids like him develop their skills and get noticed. Elliott is doing the same thing with Legends standout Casey Roderick, in addition to others, and his son Chase, who is running Legends cars now. Michael Pope, out of Dublin, Ga., another former Legends Car kid, now drives our Chevrolet. By the way, Busch won the SpeedFest 2009 event at Lanier.

As much fun as those guys have been having, these Saturday night races also have enabled them to reacquaint themselves with a race car during their time off from the Cup Series. I ran into Ragan a few weeks ago running a Legends car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He told me he was somewhat bored amidst the testing regulations this year and was hopping in the Legends car there and a Late Model during the Ice Cold Shriners Bowl at Lanier (he finished third at that event in early January) to prevent his driving skills from becoming rusty. He just needed to turn some laps on a race track to freshen up his driving.


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