Richard Childress Racing's Stephen Leicht no fan of NASCAR's testing ban
Richard Childress Racing's Stephen Leicht will make his first start of the season in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. // LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
LEBANON, Tenn. – Richard Childress Racing’s Stephen Leicht says NASCAR’s testing ban at most tracks this season has hurt him more than it has drivers who run a full Nationwide Series schedule.
Leicht, set to make his first start of the season in Saturday’s Nashville 300 at Nashville Superspeedway, is sharing the No. 29 Chevrolet this season with RCR Cup drivers Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer.
“I think when it comes to the guys that are running full time all the time, especially Cup and Nationwide, it really hasn’t affected them as much as it has the teams that are trying to get ahead – teams that could go and test even during the season trying to find that little competitive edge to get ahead of everyone else,” Leicht said on Friday at the 1.33-mile Nashville facility. “But as a part-time driver, it’s really hurt me. Any driver that’s not racing full time that can’t test anymore, that race and that one or two hour practice [before] the race is all the seat time we get anymore, so it’s very important and for me it’s been tough.”
Leicht says he has only tested once this season – at a half-mile track in Dillon, S.C., - to help prepare for this weekend’s race. He doesn’t expect much of the information from that test to carry over.
“We had hard tires, which to me doesn’t even count because you’re not doing nothing that you’re going to compare to when you’re actually at a NASCAR event,” Leicht said of the test.
The good news for Leicht is that of all the tracks that host Nationwide races, Nashville might be the place where he’s the most comfortable.
In three races at Nashville, the now 22-year-old has started no worse than 10th and has one finish of worse than 12th. Leicht’s most recent start came at Texas Motor Speedway last fall.
“The fact that I haven’t raced in a while obviously puts a lot of pressure on me with Clint and Jeff behind the wheel a lot and having to compare to them, but I think I’m going to be alright,” the Asheville, N.C., native said. “Nashville’s one of my really good tracks I run at, it’s one of my favorite tracks. … I think I’ve got a good shot at this name on the side of the car deal; it’s going to be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get behind the Holiday Inn Racing Chevrolet on Saturday.”
Leicht has been doing everything he can to get ready for his turn behind the wheel, including joining the No. 29 team at some races just as an observer.
“I’ve been at every race so far this year and I’m going to plan on going to every one I possibly can,” he said. “It’ll be rare if I’m not there. Basically, that’s all I can do to prepare and be at the race shop knowing what’s going on with the car and what we’re changing and what we’re trying, new things, old things and what the game plans are.
“Listening to Clint and Jeff during the races and in practice when I’m not in the car just listening to their communication between our crew chief Dan [Deeringhoff] and there selves so that when I get in the car I can compare to that, I’ll know what they’re talking about and can relate to that, that’s really the best thing I can do and the only thing I can do now that we can’t really test anywhere.”
So how much pressure does Leicht feel stepping into the seat usually occupied by two drivers who both have made NASCAR’s Chase For The Sprint Cup the last two seasons.
“I think obviously it’s tough. I think that the hardest thing about it is when it weighs on your mind when that’s all you can think about until you get in the race car. For me, once I get in the race car, that all goes away,” said Leicht, whose No. 29 team won at Nashville last spring with driver Scott Wimmer. “I only focus on what I’m doing. When I’m outside the car you think about it, obviously, but when I’m in that race car, all I think about is racing and what I need to do to get to where I was.
“And I think racing’s just like riding a bike, man. You don’t forget how to race, it just takes you a little bit to get back in the rhythm and back in the groove.”
