MARTINSVILLE, Va. (August 16, 2011) – If you think a Sprint Cup driver’s career consists of a few hours in their race car on a Sunday afternoon, think again.
Five drivers – Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton – were strapped back in their racers by 10 a.m. Tuesday at Martinsville Speedway, less than 24 hours after finishing up a grueling race at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York.
They were in town for a two-day Goodyear tire test, helping Goodyear improve its racing tires, and just as importantly to the drivers, perhaps gaining a little knowledge for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville on October 30.
“It’s not often you get to do any testing in this sport on tracks that mean anything and obviously Martinsville means a lot to our team,” said Keselowski, who is still nursing a broken ankle from a crash a couple weeks ago. “It looks like there’s a great potential for our team to be in the Chase, so anything we can bring back here in October is important.”
Early mornings are nothing new to these guys, even on the day after a long weekend at the track.
“A day like today is kind of normal for us. I’m up by 7:30 every Monday morning,” said Ragan, who was involved in a brutal crash at Watkins Glen in Monday’s rain-delayed race. “We have meetings every Monday morning at our race shop. The guys on the team are back at work at 6:30 every Monday morning. It’s what we enjoy doing. I’m glad to be at the race track.”
And the extra work this week could pay big dividends in October.
“To get an opportunity to come to a race track where you have some data is a huge advantage,” said Ragan. “We ran well here in the spring. We finished seventh. This fall is an important race for us and anything we can get out of this test will be big”.
“You’re lucky if you can hit on five or 10 percent of what you’re trying to hit on and come back with it,” said Keselowski. “It’s hard to say how much it will help. We may do this whole test and not find a thing, but you got to try.
“I’ve had the good fortune to run three races here at the Cup level and feel like if I could grow just a little more could win one of these. Hopefully the extra seat time will help.”
The Goodyear tire test will continue Wednesday at Martinsville Speedway with the same drivers. The session is open to the public at no charge. Testing will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour break at noon.
Tickets for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 on Sunday, October 30, the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Saturday, October 29 and the NASCAR practice day on Friday, October 28 are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com
2011 Schedule
October 8: Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 Pole Day October 9: Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 Late Model Stock race
October 28: Cup and Truck Practice Day
October 29: Cup and Truck Qualifying and Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race
October 30: TUMS Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race
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