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DILLNER: Testing Ban Or Bust?
Written by: Bob Dillner   
01/15/2009
Charlotte, NC
 
Bob Dillner is a reporter for NASCAR Victory Lane, NASCAR Live! and The SPEED Report on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED) ยป More Photos

The testing ban at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, intended to save teams money in 2009, has fulfilled half its purpose. And saving teams money isn’t it.

The testing policy certainly has kept teams off the NASCAR tracks, an alternative to stiff fines they face if caught, but it hasn’t saved anyone piles of money, although we can’t fault NASCAR for that.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams are still testing and many with nearly the same frequency as before. They’re just getting their track time in at places other than California, Las Vegas and Daytona.

I talked to Kyle Busch this week and his Joe Gibbs Racing team is at New Symrna Speedway working on brake packages. The teams used to do this type of work at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, but since NASCAR sanctions races there, Greenville is off the table. I talked to the New Symrna track officials, who said their testing schedule is booked solid, including a visit from Hendrick Motorsports.

Greg Erwin, Greg Biffle’s crew chief, surprised me a bit when he said they were looking for facilities other than short tracks and had decided on Texas World Speedway. I thought that place was defunct but it’s still standing and now stands to profit from the testing ban. The track owner recognized an opportunity to make money with the NASCAR testing
limitations, so he refurbished the two-mile track and Biffle will be the first NASCAR driver to test there in years.

Teams also are testing at Rockingham. Roush Fenway Racing is at The Rock this week and the Gillett Evernham/Petty team arrives next week. Teams are also going to Pikes Peak, a one-mile, somewhat D-shaped track out in Colorado.

It’s funny that when we visit shops, we may not learn a lot of information about that team but we certainly hear what their competitors are doing. Some guys told me a particular team is considering loading a couple of race cars onto a boat or airplane and shipping them to Japan. In the event they cannot test in the U.S. for some reason during the season, they will fly the team over to Japan to test at Twin Ring Motegi. That’s the most outlandish but creative testing idea I’ve ever heard. Twin Ring Motegi is an oval track with two vastly different corners – one is wide and sweeping, the other tight and narrow – and teams could probably learn a lot because of those differences.

While these teams might find out a lot about their cars, they’re not saving money. The wealthier teams are still acquiring riches in knowledge because they continue to shell out money to test and spend hours on the shaker rigs, seven-post machines and in wind tunnels.


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