NASCAR Spring Cup regulars, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart completed a Goodyear Tire test at the newly repaved one-mile Phoenix International Oval this week.
This was the first major paving of the 47-year old facility since 1990. Newly repaved tracks will result in high grip levels and increased cornering speeds. Thus Goodyear needed the test to formulate a compound for the penultimate race in the Sprint Cup scheduled for November 13th.
One of the goals of the repaving project was to affect more side-by-side racing on one of NASCAR’s flattest tracks.
According to a PIR release: "One such change, the alteration of PIR’s signature back-stretch dog-leg to include banking and elevation variances, improved what Kurt Busch referred to as the “fun factor” at PIR.
“It’s exciting to feel something new like this," Kurt Busch said. "And to have that exhilarating back straightaway... like a roller coaster, you drive up the banking off of Turn 2 and then you drop down. It’s a nice, light feeling when you get up top – a really interesting back straightaway. I’m also glad they kept many of the old, signature characteristics of Phoenix."
NASCAR has scheduled an open test for October 4-5 in the interest of fairness to those drivers and teams who were not among the five who tested this week. Goodyear officials note that it’s likely they will bring a different compound in October based on this week’s test which will likely mitigate any advantage in information learned this week.
Also since track temperatures will likely be cooler in October and November than now in Arizona the October test should more resemble track conditions for the official race weekend.
This was the first major paving of the 47-year old facility since 1990. Newly repaved tracks will result in high grip levels and increased cornering speeds. Thus Goodyear needed the test to formulate a compound for the penultimate race in the Sprint Cup scheduled for November 13th.
One of the goals of the repaving project was to affect more side-by-side racing on one of NASCAR’s flattest tracks.
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| Photo: Goodyear |
According to a PIR release: "One such change, the alteration of PIR’s signature back-stretch dog-leg to include banking and elevation variances, improved what Kurt Busch referred to as the “fun factor” at PIR.
“It’s exciting to feel something new like this," Kurt Busch said. "And to have that exhilarating back straightaway... like a roller coaster, you drive up the banking off of Turn 2 and then you drop down. It’s a nice, light feeling when you get up top – a really interesting back straightaway. I’m also glad they kept many of the old, signature characteristics of Phoenix."
NASCAR has scheduled an open test for October 4-5 in the interest of fairness to those drivers and teams who were not among the five who tested this week. Goodyear officials note that it’s likely they will bring a different compound in October based on this week’s test which will likely mitigate any advantage in information learned this week.
Also since track temperatures will likely be cooler in October and November than now in Arizona the October test should more resemble track conditions for the official race weekend.