Four Cup drivers participate in Goodyear tire test at Texas Motor Speedway
Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton, Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch, Yates Racing’s Travis Kvapil and Michael Waltrip Racing’s David Reutimann participated in a Goodyear tire test on Thursday at Texas Motor Speedway that saw each of NASCAR’s four manufacturers represented.
The test, scheduled to assist Goodyear’s tire choice for the Samsung 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race in April, gave the four drivers a rare opportunity to log laps at a track prior to a race weekend in the upcoming season because of NASCAR’s one-year ban on testing at all its tracks that host Sprint Cup, Nationwide, Truck, East and West series races.
“Testing days are limited, and with us being able to get on a track that we race on with the potential tire that we use in April makes it a vital day,” said Busch, who represented the Dodge camp. “Track time is one of the things you put on the top of your list. These days are few and far between.”
Kvapil hopes his participation in the test can give his team a jumpstart on 2009.
“It’s very important to take home all the info we can,” said Kvapil, who represented Ford. “It gives us a chance to try a few things, try a few ideas. To come to place like Texas, where it’s fast and you really have to be up on the wheel, it’s exciting.”
