Nationwide Series test meant different things to different people
By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
RICHMOND, Va. – For most teams at the Nationwide Series test this week at Richmond International Speedway, finding speed was the crucial element. But for Marcos Ambrose and his No. 59 JTG Racing team, it was about getting reacquainted.
Former crew chief Walter Giles surprised the team earlier in the week by resigning from his position, and JTG moved Craftsman Truck Series crew chief Gary Cogswell to fill Giles’ spot.
“My situation this week has been a little unique,” Ambrose said. “We lost a crew chief on the weekend. He decided to part ways with us, and that’s really put us on the back foot.”
Ambrose and Cogswell worked together in the truck series, so they spent Monday and Tuesday at Richmond getting to know one another again.
“We’ve had a tough start to our year, and [the test] is really about Gary Cogswell, who is a crew chief who was working with me in the truck series in 2006,” Ambrose said. “We’re just trying to learn each other again and just get back to basics. So we are going through the motions here, trying to get a handle on the new crew chief and our situation.”
Ambrose and Cogswell proved to work well at Richmond, as Ambrose's Ford went from one of the slowest cars at the test to matching Kevin Harvick for the 18th-fastest speed.
“Right now we are working hard on our short-track program,” said Ambrose, who is 23rd in the points standings through six races. “It’s an area that we feel, as a team, we’re a little weak on, and we are trying to improve. So this test is critical for us to get that information so we can go over it in the next couple of weeks and really come up with some good decisions.”
Mike Wallace ended the two-day test at Richmond with the fastest speed. His No. 7 Germain Racing Toyota turned a lap 125.377 mph around the 0.75-mile track, fastest of 35 drivers.
Roush Fenway Racing’s David Ragan was second at 125.174, with teammate Carl Edwards third at 125.000. Bobby Labonte (Richard Chidlress Racing) was fourth, with Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) fifth.
Sixth through 10th were Mike Bliss (Fitz Motorsports), Landon Cassill (JR Motorsports), David Reutimann (Michael Waltrip Racing), Kyle Busch (Braun Racing) and Brad Keselowski (JRM).
Key Motorsports’ Jeff Green, who was helping the team make its return to the series, crashed the team’s No. 31 Chevrolet on the second day of the test, but team director of competition Tommy Morgan said the damage was minimal and could be repaired.
“We’re good to go,” Morgan said. “Jeff can really race with this car, and when we put on our better manifold, we might just have something for them.”
Richmond hosts the Nationwide Series on May 2.
