In the final testing before the beginning of the Sprint Cup season, teams converged on Fontana, Ca. for testing at California Speedway. Picking up where he left off in Las Vegas, Denny Hamlin led the morning testing session in both his Toyota cars. Hamlin posted a 39.447 second lap with an average speed of 182.523 miles per hour. The afternoon session once again had Denny Hamlin in the top 10, posting fifth and sixth best speeds, but the session belonged to Jeff Gordon, who had a 39.888 second lap with a best speed of 180.505 miles per hour. After a week of testing, most of the drivers are becoming more and more used to the new car and have actually taken a liking to it.
If anyone had any doubts about Toyota's ability to perform at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level, they should look at the testing speeds from the last few weeks. Once again, the Toyota teams have managed to top the speed charts during testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin posted a speed of 178.265 miles per hour on the fourteenth lap of the session in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is vital to teams because the information gathered will account for one third of the races run this season. Rounding out the top 5 was Clint Bowyer in his Chevy, Matt Kenseth in his Ford, Jeff Gordan in his Chevy, and Kyle Busch also in a Joe Gibbs Toyota.
In the yearly preseason press conference, NASCAR chairman Brian France announced changes to its top three divisions, including the much needed and much anticipated changes in the qualifying procedures. Beginning in the 2008 NASCAR season, teams outside the top 35 in standings will qualify together, at the end of the qualifying session. The purpose of this change is to allow the drivers who must qualify on speed to have a fair chance at qualifying. In the previous qualifying system, the qualifying order was set by a random lottery, which would give some of the speed qualifiers an advantage dependent on the order in which they qualify and the track conditions. Having those drivers qualify at the same time will allow those drivers to qualify under similar track conditions.
With the 2008 season fast approaching, there are already early favorites to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup. But like last year, one of the favorites will only be competing on a part time basis, and he is perfectly satisfied with what he has done. Mark Martin, one of NASCAR's best and most popular drivers, will once again compete on a part time basis and will not run for a Sprint Cup Championship in 2008, even if he has a significant lead in the points. Despite coming as close as second in the points standings, Martin is satisfied with the accomplishments he has had. "I'm happy with what I was able to accomplish and I don't need to chase that Cup anymore," Martin said. Despite not running for a Cup championship, Martin is excited for the upcoming season and the possibilities for his team and for DEI as a whole.
Toyota has made a turn in the right direction. After having a strong showing in the first testing session at Daytona last week, Toyota has dominated the speed charts in the first three sessions of the second week, with only Dale Earnhardt Jr. consistently being shown a the top of the speed charts. The second week of testing also provides a formal introduction to Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a new team. Being one of the most popular drivers in auto racing, Earnhardt Jr. has a lot to prove with his new team. But, the real story is, with Toyota dominating testing at Daytona, one can only wonder if there is a new force to be reckoned with in NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing.
The beginning of the NASCAR season is always marked by pre-season testing, primarily at Daytona International Speedway, the site of the first race in the NASCAR season. Testing went as expected, with many teams and drivers seeing their potential for the upcoming season. With the first week of testing complete, it appears that Toyota has benefitted the most from testing at the track, as it posted top speeds in four of the six sessions, including in the session of drafting. Now that the first half of the teams have completed testing at the track, expectations have been set and all eyes will be on the other drivers testing next week, particularly Dale Earnhardt Jr.
One of NASCAR's powerhouse teams, Yates Racing, is in a major bind. With 39 days to go, Yates Racing has yet to secure full time sponsors for the upcoming 2008 Sprint Cup season. Without a major sponsor for either one of its teams, and time running out before the start of the season, Yates Racing may soon be on its way out from NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.
Yesterday, I was listening to Sirius NASCAR Channel 128, and the topic of conversation was very disturbing. NASCAR is allegedly considering having a Pay Per View NASCAR Channel, which would include NASCAR specific shows, such as NASCAR Now, NASCAR Angels, etc., in addition to giving the channel exclusive rights to all the NASCAR races. This decision would mean that all broadcast channels such as Fox and ABC would lose their coverage. If this idea goes through, it could mean the demise of NASCAR.
After one of the most busy years for Dale Earnhardt Jr., things are finally settling down for the driver/owner. After choosing to go with Hendrick Motorsports for the years to come, Earnhardt Jr. negotiated a deal with Hendrick to manage the team's Nationwide Series entries under his company, JR Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports has announced a partial driving schedule for the #5 in the Nationwide Series.
