NASCAR Talk

Testing, testing, 1 - 2 - 29! The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have moved along from Las Vegas to testing now at California Motorspeedway. The Preseason Thunder has been heating up for the driver of the #29 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, Kevin Harvick. In the fun and the sun of California, Harvick took some time away from the track to talk with the NASCAR media about his team’s outlook for 2008.

Happy Harvick answered questions about the Car of Tomorrow (including what it should be called now that tomorrow is actually here) and tires from testing in Daytona, Las Vegas, and California. He also talked about his Daytona 500 win last season and how he could repeat it in just a few short weeks. There was also a question about Kevin’s thoughts on Hendrick Motorsports domination, and Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in particular.

It looks from the teleconference that Richard Childress Racing has been working hard over the off season to make some strides and close the gap with the Hendrick teams. Don’t take my word for it, though! Check out a transcript of the teleconference after the jump.

NASCAR, Sprint Cup Testing California, Kevin Harvick Teleconference transcript

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Preseason Thunder rolls on for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers with testing at Las Vegas Motorspeedway this week and then California at the end of the week. The best part about these testing days is all the time the drivers make for fans, sponsors, and the media. There are teleconferences scheduled for every day this week with some of the biggest and brightest stars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Arguably the most popular driver in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his turn on the microphone and answered some questions today for a teleconference for the NASCAR media.

Find out what Junior thinks of his new team, hear about the first time he met Jeff Gordon, and also how he feels about Daytona and its history. To see what he has to say about those topics and many more, you can read the entire transcript after the jump.

NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr. Teleconference Transcript

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Here’s a quick look back at a compilation of the Daytona testing over the past couple of weeks. It doesn’t include everything, obviously, but it’s a nice clips package. Enjoy.

NASCAR, Daytona Preseason Thunder highlights

Last weekend, the Craftsman Truck Series invaded Daytona for their turn at Preseason Thunder and got in some testing time on the track. There were plenty of drivers and lots of things learned by all the teams who participated. There were definitely some surprises and some things that were expected to come out of the weekend, so let’s take a look at the results.

On day one of testing, Erik Darnell piloted the #99 to the fastest speed in the morning and Brendan Gaughn in the #10 took the top spot in the first day’s afternoon session. Andy Lally (#7) also was in the top five for both sessions. The afternoon session ended up on a sour note with a crash that took out Colin Brown’s #6 and Joey Clanton in the #09 for the entire weekend (Kyle Busch was also involved). Brendan Gaughn also got a little overzealous in the bump draft turning David Starr #11 into #59 Ted Musgrave.

Day two was much less eventful with Erik Darnell once again the fastest in the morning session and Jon Wood in the #21 in the afternoon. Justin Marks #9 was also fast in both sessions, landing in the top 5 both times.

Day three, the final day of testing, Justin Marks managed to be the top car in speed. After examining all of the times for all three days, Erik Darnell was the fastest of all the cars.

To see a list of drivers who participated, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Craftsman Trucks, Craftsman Truck Testing Daytona

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I was hoping to post this weekend about all of the great Craftsman Truck testing at Daytona, however, due to some more technical difficulties, I was unable to post the updates. I think we’re back online now and I hope to get you all caught up on what went down during Preseason Thunder, Craftsman Truck style this past weekend.

I’ll also report this week all about the second week of Sprint Cup testing in Daytona, including teleconference transcripts and hopefully some more interviews with the drivers, speeds, and all other happenings this week.

So stay tuned and get ready for testing, week 2!

NASCAR, Preseason Thunder, NASCAR Daytona testing, Craftsman Truck Testing, Sprint Cup Testing

The first week of Daytona testing has come to an end for the Sprint Cup drivers. I hope you enjoy the following clip of a short Q&A session with drivers Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, and Jacques Villeneuve.

NASCAR, NASCAR interviews, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Jacques Villeneuve, AJ Allmendinger, Daytona Preseason Thunder Q&A

Hey! Guess what? Jimmie Johnson wasn’t the fastest today! Instead, the Toyotas are looking strong on day 3 of Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona. Kyle Busch, now driving the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, posted the fastest times in both the morning single car testing and again this afternoon in drafting practice. AJ Allmendinger’s #84 Toyota showed the second fastest time in the morning session and was sixth during drafting in the afternoon.

The Roush Fenway Racing Fords seem to be starting to dial in the track and making progress as well. Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle all had good times that put them in the top ten for drafting this afternoon. Edwards and Biffle also seemed quick in the morning single car testing as well, each landing in the top 12.

Even though Jimmie Johnson wasn’t on top today, he still deserves a mention. Johnson posted the fifth fastest time in the single car testing session this morning. That means he’s still the fastest car in single car sessions for the entire week on average. However, his drafting seems to be slowing him down somewhat. He was able to scrape into the 15th position in the afternoon drafting tests, but was nowhere near his teammates Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears, who were both easily in the top seven.

Speaking of Casey Mears, he was one of the guests on today’s NASCAR Media teleconference. He was joined by his crew chief Alan Gustafson to talk about 2008 and where the team was headed with Hendrick Motorsports. The other teleconference participant today was none other than the fastest guy on the track, Kyle Busch. He gave some insight into his new team at Joe Gibbs Racing and his goals for the future. You can read the transcript of both of these teleconferences after the jump.

NASCAR, NASCAR Preseason Thunder, NASCAR Daytona testing, Kyle Busch Teleconference, Casey Mears Teleconference, Alan Gustafson Teleconference

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It was day two of 2008 NASCAR Preseason Thunder in Daytona today, and it looked to be more of the same as always. Jimmie Johnson was once again the fastest car on the track in the morning sessions. However, that was single car racing with no drafting. The afternoon session allowed drafting and JJ Yeley (now driving the #96 Toyota) took the top spot with a little help from his friends. In fact, Toyotas looked strong in the drafting practice, putting three Toyota drivers in the top ten times (Yeley, Kyle Busch, and David Reutimann). Martin Truex Jr. was able to test his own car today and was knocking on the door of the top ten times in both the morning and afternoon sessions.

There were lots of press conferences with different drivers and of course, as I told you yesterday, a special announcement about NASCAR Day 2008 featuring Garth Brooks. There was also a teleconference for NASCAR media with Matt Kenseth this morning. I have the transcript of that call for you, after the jump.

Tomorrow, there will be some more teleconferences from some of your favorite (or maybe not so favorite drivers) including former Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Busch and Casey Mears. I’m sure there will be plenty of questions about how Kyle is adjusting to his new Toyota ride over at Joe Gibbs Racing and some questions for Casey about his new Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. I’ll be able to bring you the transcripts after those teleconferences.

For now, click after the jump and enjoy the Matt Kenseth teleconference.

NASCAR, NASCAR testing Daytona, NASCAR Preseason Thunder, Matt Kenseth Teleconference Transcript

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Hello, NASCAR fans! It seemed like a long month off, but your favorite drivers are back in the drivers’ seats and racing around Daytona testing for the 2008 season.

So far, it looks like 2007 Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson is picking up right where he left off. He posted the fastest times in this morning’s test session and also in the afternoon session. The domination of Hendrick Motorsports continues right on into the 2008 testing season with Johnson’s teammate Casey Mears (now driving the #5 Chevy for Hendrick) having the second fastest time, and four time Cup champion Jeff Gordon also making the top ten times for this morning’s test session.

AJ Allmendinger was the first Toyota on the charts in the morning session and Kyle Busch in his new Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota took the top spot for that automaker in the afternoon. Ford and Dodge didn’t do quite as well, with Juan Pablo Montoya being the fastest Dodge in both sessions ending up in the mid-teens. Travis Kvapil, driving the #28 Robert Yates Racing Ford was the fastest in the morning session at number 14, and managed to improve again scoring the fastest Ford time and placing 8th in the afternoon.

Some notable changes in drivers were that Robby Gordon actually tested his own car, as the Dakar Rally race he was slated to appear in was canceled. Martin Truex Jr. was absent from his #1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy and was replaced for the day by Aric Almirola.

Tomorrow looks to be another great day of racing. There are also press teleconferences with Matt Kenseth and Juan Pablo Montoya that I will report back to you with. One more big announcement regarding NASCAR Day 2008 will also be made from Daytona tomorrow afternoon, and all I know about it is that Garth Brooks will be attending that announcement. This could be something big! Stay tuned to NASCAR Talk Online to find out what is going on.

NASCAR, NASCAR Daytona testing

Last week, I posted about how the fans can give blood and watch testing at Daytona over the next couple of weeks. Are you going? I wish I could! If you can’t make all of the testing dates, I happen to have the list of which Sprint Cup drivers should be testing at which sessions for your convenience. There are also several drivers who are expected to test, but have not officially been put on either schedule as of yet. Those will be listed at the end, and as more information about their testing dates becomes available, I’ll be sure to update it for you.

So, if you want to see which drivers are testing on which days, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, NASCAR Sprint Cup Testing Daytona

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Well, it’s almost January, so I think it’s about time to start looking forward to all of the activities that will be going on in the NASCAR world over the next month and a half before the running of the 50th Daytona 500. The common folk of America might think that racing doesn’t start until the Gatorade Duels, or a somewhat tuned in fan would know the Budweiser Challenge comes first. However, we hard core fans know that racing never really stops or takes a break, right?

January is going to be a flurry of activity in Daytona with testing and various Fan Fest days for all three of NASCAR’s top series. The “World Center of Racing” in Daytona, Florida kicks things off with testing for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Craftsman Truck Series, and the Rolex 24.

This year, fans can also help the Daytona area community by giving blood during one of the Fan Fest testing days at the track. Those guests who give blood will receive one free ticket to see the Daytona 500 qualifying sessions on February 10th. It’s a great way to give back and get your free pass for qualifying. Blood stations will be available outside the turn 4 tunnel at the track on both of the Sprint Cup Fan Fest days. Tickets for the Sprint Cup Fan Fest nights are $15 each and the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series Fan Fest tickets can be purchased for $10 each.

To see a schedule of dates for the test sessions, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, NASCAR Fan Fest, Daytona 500

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