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NASCAR suspends sanctioned Cup, Nationwide and Truck testing in 2009
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Friday, November 14, 2008
Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, tests at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Sept. 23.
Streeter Lecka
Getty Images
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – NASCAR has suspended testing for 2009 at any NASCAR touring series track, including at Daytona International Speedway in January, sanctioning body officials confirmed this morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The suspension of testing will include all touring series tracks, but teams will still be allowed to test at NASCAR weekly racing series tracks. A NASCAR official confirmed the suspension of testing but not the details. The ban will include any track that holds a Sprint Cup, Nationwide, Truck or Camping World East or West Series races.
"I think it's the biggest thing for NASCAR right now," said Gillett Evernham Motorsports crew chief Rodney Childers. "It's going to be the right thing to keep the sport healthy. It will be tough on the teams, but it will keep the sport healthy. It's going to put a lot of thought into what you have to do at the shop. Whether it's seven-post work or wind-tunnel work. It's probably not going to be a bad deal."
Teams say that while they will still test at non-sanctioned sites, the number of tests will most likely decline, and money will be saved.
Jimmy Makar, vice president of racing operations for Joe Gibbs Racing, said that while teams will still test, they won't match the total number of tests of this season. He points out that, as of now, this is simply a one-year moratorium on the traditional testing policy in an effort to keep pace with a struggling economy.
In the past, teams tested at seven sanctioned tracks in group sessions, but the testing policy for next season has been a source of debate for much of the season. Teams had originally expected to be allowed to schedule their own tests at sanctioned tracks instead of participating in just official sessions over the course of the season.
So while teams will still spend money on testing, they won't spend as much.
"We're all really tightening our belts up … Guys with limited funding are struggling right now and trying to find ways to cut the expenses and hold on until this thing gets turned around," Makar said of the economy.
He does not dispute that the gap between the successful, fully funded teams and those that are struggling could widen. However, he points out that saving all the teams is the most crucial thing at this point.
"Obviously I think if you don't have the ability to do some of the things, simulation programs and rig testing and different things that maybe the smaller teams can't do, then, yeah, it might be a little disadvantage, but I heard it put the best the other day: This isn't trying to keep the back of the field up with the front of the field; this is just trying to keep the back of the field here," he said. " … The difference between the haves and have-nots gets a little bigger, but you still have those guys
around through these tough times."
Yates Racing crew chief Cully Barraclough sees this in equally simple terms.
“Racers want to test; money guys are glad this happened,” he said. “With the economy the way it is, this is the only way to keep everything viable. I am not going to argue with the decision. There is a lot of weird stuff going on in the world right now. This is what we’ve got to do to keep as many teams as viable as we can.”
Still, this will present a problem for next season's crop of rookie drivers.
Instead of being able to let a driver get accustomed to a track through a testing session, teams will have to find other ways to get him some experience. Obviously tracks such as Little Rockingham, the half-mile oval next to Rockingham Raceway Park in North Carolina, and Caraway (N.C.) Speedway and others will become more popular.
But teams say it is more difficult to find tracks that mirror the 1.5-mile ovals that dominate the Cup schedule. And that could alter a rookie driver's approach to 2009.
"It's certainly a concern of ours," Makar said of preparing Joey Logano, who will compete full time in the Cup series for Joe Gibbs Racing for the first time next season. "We're trying to brainstorm some different ideas of what to do and how to get him up to speed for some of these tracks he's never seen before. Obviously, running in the Nationwide Series full time is going to help a lot of places. We're probably going to have to look at running a limited amount of ARCA events at Pocono, places like that that he's never seen. We're just going to have to look at our options and try to get him as much experience and as much time on the track as we can."
For the most part, crew chiefs and team officials say the change will save them money and not not significantly alter the performance lineup in the garage.
"The strongest financially funded teams are always on top," said Robbie Loomis, vice president of racing operations for Petty Enterprises. "It goes all the way through, and it's not going to change whether we're testing or not. You might see a little difference, but we'll still have great racing. It's going to kill rookies. But these guys like Logano will make drivers ... spend more time in [Nationwide]. When Jimmie Johnson came up, he was ready to go because he spent more time in [Nationwide]. Joey Logano is going to tackle the learning curve in Cup at Home Depot's expense."
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15 responses to "NASCAR suspends sanctioned Cup, Nationwide and Truck testing in 2009". Post a Comment.
JLynn F said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 9:40 AMWell now this will make Andy Hillenburg happy!
Chazzo Ozzahc said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 12:51 PMI am glad this happened. It isnt fair for the big dollar teams to test unlimited amount of times, anywhere they want, whenever they want.Sorry folks, but I want to see a more even keel in the garage to keep it interesting. The past few years have been total domination by Roush an Hendrick, because they spend a ton of money testing that other teams cant spend.Hell, bring back "race what you brung".
Andrew Briscoe said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 4:20 PMThe only ones that will benefit from this are the teams that can get together and split the cost of testing at a track like Rockingham or VIR. It's not going to stop testing. It's still going to be the same teams testing at Rockingham before the short track races, VIR before a road course, and all the other tracks they test at. NASCAR could have done way better with their new testing policy. The big teams will still test at the same tracks as always, just no more Kentucky testing.
Jeff Boyer said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 4:46 PMChazzo... The Big teams can still test unlimited, just not at a Nascar Touring Sanctioned Track like they have been doing. What Nascar is eliminating is the 7 regular tests and pre-season testing at Daytona. What about tire tests ?? Who gets the advantage of doing that ?
Werner Boehmert said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 5:36 PMwill Penske now build that trak he talked about earlier??...
John Muth said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 6:51 PMWell, JR. said Nascar needs to shorten the season. This will shorten the time spent at Daytona anyway. That knocks a month off right there. But Eddie Gossage said it best. They need to eliminate ALL testing, not just at sanctioned tracks.
Tim the Fan said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 6:52 PMThere's other ways to cut cost that wouldn't hurt the smaller teams. One would be to cut race distances. Drop 500 milers or 500 lap races to 400. Less fuel, less tires, less laps to tear up equiptment. I don't think the fans would mind that much either. I love Martinsville and Bristol but setting in those stands for 500 laps of racing is just to long.
Mike Smith said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 7:09 PMWith money being tight, I doubt Penske can justify spending anything on his own testing track.
Werner Boehmert said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 8:19 PM1st time i ever went into the pits was a Friday...i was told what was there were setup teams...the actual pit crew came Sunday morning...get rid of test teams, setup teams and how about limiting the amount of tires used...hey NASCAR...cut my costs...you want me to pay for my tickets 9 months ahead of time...you collect the interest...let me collect that...
Kenneth Farley said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 9:14 PMWell I sure am glad NASCAR after deciding they were extending testing for 2009, have decided to cut most testing for 2009. This will make all those laid off crew members very happy. Brian France, find someone who can do your job, you are failing and flailing.
ANDY GRAY said:
Nov 14, 2008 at 9:45 PMI hate when I see people wanting to shorten races. Do you write on baseball forums to shorten their games? Do you write on NFL forums to shorten their games? No. Now stop it! The races are fine the way they are!!! If the teams are already at the track, the tires are already made up, not much money would be saved shortening races. I DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT RACES TO BE SHORTENED!
Steve C said:
Nov 15, 2008 at 11:07 AMNASCAR banning testing at all series tracks is going to do nothing for the teams who have the funds to test. The only thing NASCAR did was make it harder for the teams who are restricted on their funds. NASCAR should have banned testing at all tracks period. NASCAR should open the scheduled tracks a day earlier for the teams to test, banning all other testing. This would create a level playing feild for everyone. Right now there are plenty of tracks for the teams to test at. From VIR to Texas World Speedway, Testing will continue.
Karen said:
Nov 15, 2008 at 12:05 PMThey failed to mention that those teams that are not fully funded cannot afford to make a lot of those simulations. And I don't know if this was the best decistion to make being that they just introduced a new car.
rae said:
Nov 15, 2008 at 12:49 PMHow did they test "back in the day"? Does testing need to go away all-together??Glad to hear they're trying to find a way to save money. I don't like to watch a race & see the underfunded teams struggle. I believe some of those drivers really know what the're doing but the cars just won't perform as good as the the cars that are backed by big bucks... those that can continually test & make improvements.
Kenneth Farley said:
Nov 22, 2008 at 11:42 PMBut Rae, the underfunded teams will suffer more because they do all of their testing on the tracks instead of the 7 post computer simulators that the "HAVE'S" of the sport already own. They have all the tracks in the data banks and can simulate the track on the bench. That's why Hendrick's cars usually don't need much fussing with right out of the gate, where as the go or go homers are on the tracks testing to try and get a setup ready for the next race. And that those setup from testing paramaters change from day to day. But it will cut cost, in team members, who will be unemployed, like a lot of other Americans.