Las Vegas Test Crucial To Gen-6 Development
Thursday’s Las Vegas test laps pay no money and carry no points, but in terms of value, those serials could be among the most important of the early 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.They’ll give drivers, crew chiefs and engineers crucial information about where they are – and where they’ll need to be – in the continuing development of the Gen-6 Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry. The 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an intermediate track, is similar to layouts comprising the meat of the coming schedule.
"Without a doubt the 1.5, two-mile tracks can make your entire season. That test day is going to be huge," said Steve Letarte, crew chief of the No. 88 driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished in the top 10 in every 1.5- and two-mile race he ran in 2012. "As a crew chief, you are trying to figure out what area you should be working in."
Rodney Childers, who oversees the No. 55 Toyota that Mark Martin put on the pole a week ago at Phoenix, agrees.
"With it being an intermediate track and a place that’s really fast, the aero part becomes the biggest thing that you fight and I think everybody in the garage needs to learn a little bit [more] about this new car and where the splitter needs to be compared to the race track," Childers said.
Teams were able to test the Gen-6 cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway, another 1.5-mile track, earlier this year but the weather isn’t the only thing that’s changed since January.
"Since then, a lot of different parts have become available with the new, cambered rear-end housings and stuff like that, so we’re trying to maximize all the areas that we’ve been given to play in," said Todd Parrott, crew chief for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford of Aric Almirola.
"I think the challenge is just find the balance. We had that last year with all the different things we were able to do. I think getting that balance back for the driver and what he was feeling is the most challenging part."
So far, there has been parity among series manufacturers with Chevrolet and Ford each claiming a victory. Last Sunday’s race in Phoenix found all three nameplates taking a spot in the top three.
Earnhardt’s Fast Start; Champions Continue Rivalry
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been outspoken about how well the Gen-6 Chevrolet SS fits his driving style.Little wonder that Earnhardt is off to the second-best start of his NSCS career. With second- and fifth-place finishes in the 2013 season’s opening races, Junior is second in the standings, eight points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. That’s just behind Earnhardt’s best start. In 2004, he won the Daytona 500 and followed up with a fifth-place performance at North Carolina Motor Speedway to hold the series points lead.
"This is a good sign for us … that we’ve improved this much at Phoenix," said Earnhardt, who led 47 laps after starting 21st. "Hopefully, it’s a sign for the rest of the season and that we’re going to be all right."
Earnhardt is slated to do double duty this weekend, also entering his No. 88 Chevrolet in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Sam’s Town 300. He has yet to win in either division at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The offseason has done little to turn down the heat on last year’s Johnson-Brad Keselowski rivalry. The two battled each other for the title down to the season’s final laps. They’ve raced side-by-side in decision time at both Daytona and Phoenix.
Johnson has a decisive statistical edge in Las Vegas. He’s the leading winner with four victories. Three of those wins came during championship seasons, most recently in 2010. Johnson’s Driver Rating of 110.9 leads all competitors. Keselowski has yet to post a top-10 in four Las Vegas appearances.
Double Down: Burton, Kenseth Ride Momentum Into Vegas
Jeff Burton nabbed a top-10 finish at Phoenix, a big deal considering the circumstances.Consider the hurdles he faced: 1) Prior to the race, Burton’s crew chief Luke Lambert hurried home to be with his wife, who was expecting the couple’s second child; 2) He had just come off a wreck at Daytona, a track in which he was considered a dark-horse favorite after twice finishing in the top five last year; 3) Burton had come off two consecutive seasons with single-digit top-10 figures for the first time since 2004-05.
Now comes Vegas, a spot at which Burton has fond memories. Burton has two wins at Las Vegas (1999-2000), both coming in the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. He scored back-to-back top-five finishes in 2008-09. Last year, Burton finished 14th at the 1.5-mile track.
Another two-time Vegas winner coming off a top-10 finish: Matt Kenseth. Though early, Burton’s and Kenseth’s seasons share some parallels. Both had unfortunate Daytona finishes, followed by top 10s at Phoenix. Kenseth, who finished seventh at Phoenix, won back-to-back Vegas races in 2003-04.
Time To Get Going For Some Marquee Drivers
Kevin Harvick made last year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. So did Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Busch missed it, but by an eyelash. Yet all four sit 30th or worse after two races.Of course, it’s way too early to panic. In each case, bizarre circumstances ruined one or both of the first two races for that pack of marquee talent.
Harvick, after a lights-out Speedweeks heading into the Daytona 500, wrecked in the main event and finished 42nd, matching his career-worst finish. Kahne was involved in that same wreck and finished 36th. Truex suffered mechanical problems at Phoenix that landed him in 36th. Busch has slogged through many of the same issues that plagued his 2012 – namely, an engine issue at Daytona and a spin at Phoenix that took him out of contention.
Are better times in store for the quartet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? For hometown hero Busch, yes – if he can relive past glory. His last three finishes have been subpar: 15th, 38th and 23rd. But prior to that, Busch had four top 10s in five races (including a win in 2009).
Harvick has an average Vegas finish of 13.0; Kahne has a track-record three Coors Light poles at Vegas; and Truex has one Vegas top-10, a sixth in 2011.
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