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Filed under: Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR Sponsors, NASCAR Testing, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

The freshly repaved track at Daytona International Speedway is smooth, has plenty of grip and plenty of room for racing, said NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who participated in Wednesday's Goodyear tire tests at the track.

"They smoothed out all the bumps," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 2004 Daytona 500 champion. "The track is real smooth. It's got a lot of grip. The track reminds me a lot like Talladega was like when they first finished it.

"The racing during the drafting was exciting and I think it is going to be a good show, a more exciting show for the fans because the cars are going to stay real tight on each other throughout entire runs."

The speedway said 18 drivers took part in the tire test Wednesday -- the first day of a two-day Goodyear test to determine the proper tire compound for the 2.5-mile speedway's new racing surface before the 53rd annual Daytona 500 on Feb. 20. Drivers turned laps on the speedway in both single car and drafting sessions.

It was the first time race cars have been on the track at speed since the repaving job was completed earlier this month. From July to December, the entire track was repaved for only the second time since it was built and opened in 1959.

 

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Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

The fresh asphalt laid at NASCAR's Mecca -- all 50,000 tons of it -- will get its first big workout next week.

At least 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are scheduled to test the new surface of the high banks of the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway Dec. 15 and 16 as part of a Goodyear tire test, the track said Wednesday.

It will mark the first time NASCAR drivers will have driven on a new surface at the Florida superspeedway since the last time it was repaved in 1978.

"This place is going to have a totally new look to the drivers and the teams," two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart said in October. "We're going to fill every square inch of the race track because the surface is so even now."

Goodyear will utilize the test to develop appropriate tire compounds for the preseason Sprint Cup Series test to be held in the middle of January.

The track was faced with repaving after a pot hole opened up in turn two during this year's Daytona 500, forcing substantial, hours-long delays to the race. Essentially, the force of the cars began to tear an ever-widening gouge into the typically smooth surface.

 

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Filed under: Daytona Int'l Speedway, FanHouse Exclusive, NASCAR

NASCAR drivers will get their first chance to try out the new pavement at Daytona International Speedway with a Goodyear tire test scheduled for late January.

Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood would not reveal a specific date -- although it's believed to be the weekend of Jan. 21-- but track spokesman Andrew Booth said the speedway hopes to have a formal announcement as early as next week.

Chitwood said he has been in talks with NASCAR to lobby for a January date -- the first preseason open test at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in four years -- a necessity to try out the $20 million pavement project that is supposed to be completed by January 1.

"That would certainly get the vibe going that we're back at it,'' said Chitwood, who also said he's seriously considering christening the track by driving a car on it on two wheels, a stunt made famous in his family's legendary "Joie Chitwood Thrill Show" -- and one that he personally performed hundreds of times as a third-generation member of the show.

"It will be a different way to start off the season. We'll have a ribbon cutting, maybe I do something crazy like that, we'll put all the elements together and it will feel special,'' Chitwood said.

 

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