Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage wants a test session held at his facility before the Sprint Cup teams race there April 6. But NASCAR says he's not going to get one.
Concerned by a track-record 11 cautions Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and comments from some drivers who say Texas will be a bigger test for the new racecar, Gossage sent a release to the media inviting NASCAR to test at the Fort Worth facility prior to the Samsung 500. Although Clint Bowyer and Juan Montoya took part in a Goodyear tire test in January at Texas, it was not one of the six tracks chosen for an official open test like the one held in Phoenix on Monday and Tuesday.
Gossage proposed adding a test session, opening the track the Wednesday of race week for an additional practice session, or adding a Sprint Cup practice to the speedway's regular schedule of events on Thursday.
"My concern is that they did have an open test at Las Vegas and still had a record number of cautions, including three serious crashes involving former Cup champions," said Gossage, referring to wrecks involving Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. "We only have had a two-car Goodyear test so we could see a lot of crashes, and that causes me concern. I'm sure the teams would like as much data and track time as possible to reach that comfort level with the car and its performance at our speedway."
NASCAR says it will keep an eye on the car's performance at Texas before determining whether any additional track time is necessary. As for an additional test, the sanctioning body's answer is clear-cut.
"The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is testing in Phoenix [Tuesday] and will test at Pocono and Charlotte later this year," series spokesman Ramsey Poston said Tuesday. "There are no plans to add tests at this time."
Sprint Cup teams also tested at Daytona, California, and Las Vegas in addition to the session this week in Phoenix and those upcoming at Pocono and Charlotte. Texas officials lobbied NASCAR for an open test, but did not receive one. Gossage's concern was heightened after reading comments from drivers even before the 11-caution Las Vegas event took place.
"I think Texas will be the toughest track we go to with this car, [and] it's already a tough racetrack," Gordon said. "And when you look at the transitions, the vertical loads, the bumps and the speeds, it's probably going to be closer to [Las Vegas] than to any other track we go to. The biggest challenge we're going to have with the Impala going forward this year is going to tracks that we haven't tested at and been to and gotten the data and the laps with the telemetry."
Added Jeff Burton, defending champion of Texas' spring race: "I think there are a lot of challenges at Texas -- maybe more so than [Las Vegas]. Texas is a little rougher. With this car, the bumps seem to be a pretty major issue, so I think Texas is going to be quite a challenge with this car. Some teams are going to hit and some teams aren't. The success we were able to do there last year, none of that works. None of that information will be worth a hoot, so it's starting all over again."
Las Vegas was the first race for the new car on a 1.5-mile tri-oval. The information teams compiled in the January test at Las Vegas was offset somewhat by the stark difference in weather conditions on race day. NASCAR also builds its test schedule partly on input from teams, who are consulted at midseason about which venues they would most prefer to test at the next year.
But Gossage still holds out hope that NASCAR will change its mind. The track president also sent an overnight letter to NASCAR president Mike Helton outlining his concerns about racing at Texas without a test.
"I'm disappointed that NASCAR did not give it more consideration," Gossage said, "but Texas Motor Speedway's offer still stands if they reconsider."
Concerned by a track-record 11 cautions Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and comments from some drivers who say Texas will be a bigger test for the new racecar, Gossage sent a release to the media inviting NASCAR to test at the Fort Worth facility prior to the Samsung 500. Although Clint Bowyer and Juan Montoya took part in a Goodyear tire test in January at Texas, it was not one of the six tracks chosen for an official open test like the one held in Phoenix on Monday and Tuesday.
Gossage proposed adding a test session, opening the track the Wednesday of race week for an additional practice session, or adding a Sprint Cup practice to the speedway's regular schedule of events on Thursday.
"My concern is that they did have an open test at Las Vegas and still had a record number of cautions, including three serious crashes involving former Cup champions," said Gossage, referring to wrecks involving Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. "We only have had a two-car Goodyear test so we could see a lot of crashes, and that causes me concern. I'm sure the teams would like as much data and track time as possible to reach that comfort level with the car and its performance at our speedway."
NASCAR says it will keep an eye on the car's performance at Texas before determining whether any additional track time is necessary. As for an additional test, the sanctioning body's answer is clear-cut.
"The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is testing in Phoenix [Tuesday] and will test at Pocono and Charlotte later this year," series spokesman Ramsey Poston said Tuesday. "There are no plans to add tests at this time."
Sprint Cup teams also tested at Daytona, California, and Las Vegas in addition to the session this week in Phoenix and those upcoming at Pocono and Charlotte. Texas officials lobbied NASCAR for an open test, but did not receive one. Gossage's concern was heightened after reading comments from drivers even before the 11-caution Las Vegas event took place.
"I think Texas will be the toughest track we go to with this car, [and] it's already a tough racetrack," Gordon said. "And when you look at the transitions, the vertical loads, the bumps and the speeds, it's probably going to be closer to [Las Vegas] than to any other track we go to. The biggest challenge we're going to have with the Impala going forward this year is going to tracks that we haven't tested at and been to and gotten the data and the laps with the telemetry."
Added Jeff Burton, defending champion of Texas' spring race: "I think there are a lot of challenges at Texas -- maybe more so than [Las Vegas]. Texas is a little rougher. With this car, the bumps seem to be a pretty major issue, so I think Texas is going to be quite a challenge with this car. Some teams are going to hit and some teams aren't. The success we were able to do there last year, none of that works. None of that information will be worth a hoot, so it's starting all over again."
Las Vegas was the first race for the new car on a 1.5-mile tri-oval. The information teams compiled in the January test at Las Vegas was offset somewhat by the stark difference in weather conditions on race day. NASCAR also builds its test schedule partly on input from teams, who are consulted at midseason about which venues they would most prefer to test at the next year.
But Gossage still holds out hope that NASCAR will change its mind. The track president also sent an overnight letter to NASCAR president Mike Helton outlining his concerns about racing at Texas without a test.
"I'm disappointed that NASCAR did not give it more consideration," Gossage said, "but Texas Motor Speedway's offer still stands if they reconsider."
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