High speeds mark Charlotte's tire test

By Bob Pockrass
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

CONCORD, N.C. -- Scott Riggs says the newly repaved surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway is fast, but he doesn't think restrictor plates will be needed to slow the cars down, as some had predicted.

Official lap times were not reported during a tire test at the track Tuesday and Wednesday, but Bobby Labonte said he came within .3 second of the last October's pole-winning lap, Elliott Sadler's 27.948-second lap at 193.216 mph.

"It's going to be faster [than 2005]," Riggs said. "Is it going to be fast enough that we're going to need restrictor plates? Absolutely not ... even if we are going to break the track record.

"Anytime you come out with a new tire or new paving, we always break track records. I don't think just because we are going to run faster than the track record previously, it's not by two seconds or 10 miles an hour."

Goodyear is testing tires to determine a compound to use when Nextel Cup teams test on the newly paved track May 1-3. The Nextel Cup series races at the track twice in May, for the all-star event and the Coca-Cola 600.

Tire problems marred both races at Lowe's after the track surface was ground down last year, but this year, the track has been repaved.

"Anytime you come out to a test like this, there are a lot of unknowns," said Rick Heinrich, Goodyear's Nextel Cup product manager. "We knew the conditions would be severe. We knew there would be a lot of speed.

"New asphalt generally generates a lot of wear. Conditions were a little more severe than we anticipated but not out of the ordinary."

Labonte, Riggs, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and the truck of Bobby Hamilton Jr. participated in the test. Riggs said he did not think speeds were so fast that restrictor plates would be needed in May.

Heinrich said the wear is coming on both sides of the car and front and rear. The loads are similar to loads from last year, he said.

"Right now, there's a little bit too much wear, but that's kind of expected because the asphalt is real fresh," Heinrich said. "The more laps ... will slow that wear down."

Mentioned Drivers: Bobby Labonte

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