Jeff Burton, in the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet paced the second and final day of spoiler testing at the one and-one-half mile Charlotte Motor Speedway.
After 93 races with a rear wing NASCAR has mandated a switch backward to a spoiler.
Much like Tuesday’s first day of testing most veteran drivers experienced only small changes in driving with the new setup.
"We've had a very productive test and all of the RCR teams have learned a great deal of information," said Burton. "The cars drive a little different and the reality is that the conditions and the tire combination are different than what it was last year. So we're learning new things that we can apply to every race from here out and hoping that our test data will translate well over to race conditions." Burton averaged 189.215 mph, his teammate, Kevin Harvick averaged 187.885 mph, and Juan Pablo Montoya was third fastest at 186.516 all were Chevrolets.
Still most drivers agree that the true test of this configuration won’t be known until they are in real race conditions.
"Personally I would like to find out more about my car in traffic from someone close to me and how it may affect the car," said four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. "It's not going to be huge, but the first race or two there might be an opportunity at some of the bigger tracks. If you
understand the car before anyone else does, you can put someone in a horrible spot and take advantage of them."
"Overall, this was a very good test for us,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “I think the spoiler, plus the rear deck, are going to make the cars ‘racier.’ "
Carl Edwards said "I really like the spoiler," and added "I think it's a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn't seem to make the car feel much different."
According to a NASCAR press release the specifications are as follows: “the spoiler to be used at all tracks except Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will be 64.5 inches in length and four inches tall in the center. It will be affixed at a 70- degree angle and is non-adjustable.
Beginning with the April 16-18 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, a 3.5-inch-tall rear-deck fin will be added to the left side of the car. This fin can either be the full length of the deck-lid or a maximum of eight inches short of the spoiler. With the deck lid fin and its length options, the teams will have some flexibility in adjusting rear side force.”
In other NASCAR news, for the Nationwide Series, Boris Said conducted a single car test of the four-mile Road America race track in a Roush Fenway prepared Ford. His best lap was about 2 minutes, 21 seconds on a dirty track. This compares to the Trans-Am pole of of 2:06.
Charlotte Speeds:
Morning Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 31B Jeff Burton Chevy 28.539 189.215
2. 29 Kevin Harvick Chevy 28.741 187.885
3. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 28.952 186.516
4. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29.059 185.829
5. 43 AJ Allmendinger Ford 29.107 185.522
6. 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 29.124 185.414
7. 48B Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.125 185.408
8. 00 David Reutimann Toyota 29.126 185.401
9. 21 Bill Elliott Ford 29.168 185.134
10. 98 Paul Menard Ford 29.176 185.084
Afternoon Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 43 AJ Allmendinger Ford 29.357 183.943
2. 48B Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.707 181.775
3. 82 Scott Speed Toyota 29.769 181.397
4. 56B Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 29.811 181.141
5. 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota 29.823 181.068
6. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29.855 180.874
7. 31B Jeff Burton Chevy 29.861 180.838
8. 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 29.884 180.699
9. 98 Paul Menard Ford 29.886 180.687
10. 9 Kasey Kahne Ford 29.896 180.626
After 93 races with a rear wing NASCAR has mandated a switch backward to a spoiler.
Much like Tuesday’s first day of testing most veteran drivers experienced only small changes in driving with the new setup.
"We've had a very productive test and all of the RCR teams have learned a great deal of information," said Burton. "The cars drive a little different and the reality is that the conditions and the tire combination are different than what it was last year. So we're learning new things that we can apply to every race from here out and hoping that our test data will translate well over to race conditions." Burton averaged 189.215 mph, his teammate, Kevin Harvick averaged 187.885 mph, and Juan Pablo Montoya was third fastest at 186.516 all were Chevrolets.
Still most drivers agree that the true test of this configuration won’t be known until they are in real race conditions.
"Personally I would like to find out more about my car in traffic from someone close to me and how it may affect the car," said four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. "It's not going to be huge, but the first race or two there might be an opportunity at some of the bigger tracks. If you
understand the car before anyone else does, you can put someone in a horrible spot and take advantage of them."
"Overall, this was a very good test for us,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “I think the spoiler, plus the rear deck, are going to make the cars ‘racier.’ "
Carl Edwards said "I really like the spoiler," and added "I think it's a great move. The fans are gonna like it and it doesn't seem to make the car feel much different."
According to a NASCAR press release the specifications are as follows: “the spoiler to be used at all tracks except Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway will be 64.5 inches in length and four inches tall in the center. It will be affixed at a 70- degree angle and is non-adjustable.
Beginning with the April 16-18 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, a 3.5-inch-tall rear-deck fin will be added to the left side of the car. This fin can either be the full length of the deck-lid or a maximum of eight inches short of the spoiler. With the deck lid fin and its length options, the teams will have some flexibility in adjusting rear side force.”
In other NASCAR news, for the Nationwide Series, Boris Said conducted a single car test of the four-mile Road America race track in a Roush Fenway prepared Ford. His best lap was about 2 minutes, 21 seconds on a dirty track. This compares to the Trans-Am pole of of 2:06.
Charlotte Speeds:
Morning Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 31B Jeff Burton Chevy 28.539 189.215
2. 29 Kevin Harvick Chevy 28.741 187.885
3. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 28.952 186.516
4. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29.059 185.829
5. 43 AJ Allmendinger Ford 29.107 185.522
6. 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 29.124 185.414
7. 48B Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.125 185.408
8. 00 David Reutimann Toyota 29.126 185.401
9. 21 Bill Elliott Ford 29.168 185.134
10. 98 Paul Menard Ford 29.176 185.084
Afternoon Session - Top 10 Speeds
1. 43 AJ Allmendinger Ford 29.357 183.943
2. 48B Jimmie Johnson Chevy 29.707 181.775
3. 82 Scott Speed Toyota 29.769 181.397
4. 56B Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 29.811 181.141
5. 32 Reed Sorenson Toyota 29.823 181.068
6. 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 29.855 180.874
7. 31B Jeff Burton Chevy 29.861 180.838
8. 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 29.884 180.699
9. 98 Paul Menard Ford 29.886 180.687
10. 9 Kasey Kahne Ford 29.896 180.626