Goodyear to test again at Charlotte
By Bob Pockrass
Friday, March 31, 2006
BAMBI MATTILA / NASCAR SCENE /
CONCORD, N.C. -- Goodyear officials confirmed Thursday that it will conduct another tire test at Lowe's Motor Speedway next Tuesday, a week after a two-day test on the newly resurfaced 1.5-mile oval.
Rick Heinrich, project manager for Goodyear, said Wednesday that the tires showed a little more wear than Goodyear would have liked, but that could be expected as Goodyear attempts to create a compound that will work on the track. Lowe's Motor Speedway underwent a $3.5 million repaving job after tire problems plagued races there last season.
Track president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler said it is too early to predict whether tire wear will be an issue during the May races. All of the Nextel Cup teams are scheduled to test May 1-3 and then Busch Series teams will test May 8-10.
"It's going to be a challenge, and I'm not sure that we really are going to now exactly what we've got as far as the track is concerned until we have all of the cars come in here in early May," Wheeler said. "We have no idea right now about a second groove because everybody is staying down low."
