Casey Mears was fastest Tuesday in Busch Series testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Credit: Autostock

Test session proves tires will be vital at Lowe's

Mears fastest in second day of Busch Series runs

CONCORD, N.C. -- The second day of Busch Series testing Tuesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway revealed that tire strategy will play a key role in determining the winner of the Carquest Auto Parts 300 on Saturday night, May 27.

Testing Speeds Day 2 of Busch Series testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway Pos. Driver Speed 1. Casey Mears 187.071 2. Reed Sorenson 186.554 3. Denny Hamlin 186.021 4. Hamlin/Yeley 185.746 5. Jon Wood 185.166 6. Kasey Kahne 185.109 7. Paul Menard 185.096 8. J.J. Yeley 185.008 9. Joel Kauffman 184.957 10. Jeff Burton 184.894 11. Jamie McMurray 184.843 12. Jason Leffler 184.596 13. Mark Martin 184.565 14. Martin Truex Jr. 184.388 15. Kyle Busch 184.388 16. Carl Edwards 184.168 17. Kenny Wallace 184.074 18. Stephen Leicht 183.748 19. Kertus Davis 183.711 20. Todd Kluever 183.424 21. Regan Smith 183.343 22. Kurt Busch 183.243 23. John Andretti 183.237 24. Matt Kenseth 183.212 25. Stacy Compton 183.107 26. Johnny Sauter 183.038 27. Clint Bowyer 182.859 28. Matt McCall 182.797 29. Burney Lamar 182.469 30. Mike Wallace 182.309 31. Michael Waltrip 182.297 32. Tracy Hines 182.180 33. Ashton Lewis Jr. 181.996 34. Scott Wimmer 181.604 35. Mark McFarland 181.372 36. Eric McClure 180.929 37. Brandon Miller 180.747 38. David Gilliland 180.626 39. Kevin Conway 180.608 40. Aaron Fike 180.433 41. David Green 179.742 42. Danny O'Quinn 175.575

In a sport where tires often begin giving up speed after a single lap, the 42 NASCAR Busch Series teams participating in the testing session learned the harder compound tires Goodyear built for the new Lowe's Motor Speedway surface are very unusual. They actually pick up speed the longer they run, meaning decisions on when to pit for tires will be critical.

"I ran my fastest lap on 85-lap tires," emphasized Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet. "You could probably Armor-All them, put a sticker on them and put them back on the shelf as new."

"The tires we have here are definitely going to hold up," said Jon Wood, who was fast throughout the session in the No. 47 Ford. "You could probably do the race in one stop for tires. If we could have a caution every 60 or 70 laps to cool the tires and to come in for fuel, I think the tires might make the whole race. They're not wearing a bit."

Second-generation driver Johnny Sauter echoed his competitor's sentiments about the Goodyear Eagles.

"We have pretty much run the same tires two days in a row and center lines are still on them," said the driver of the No. 00 Chevrolet. "We're just trying to figure out how we can get some speed out of the car on sticker tires."

Casey Mears proved best at finding the speed as the No. 42 Dodge topped the speed chart at 187.071 mph.

Mears' Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Reed Sorenson was second fastest at 186.554 mph in the No. 41 Dodge and Denny Hamlin was third on the speed chart at 186.021.

The No. 19 Chevrolet, shared by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and J.J. Yeley, ended up fourth quickest at 185.746 mph while Wood was fifth fastest at 185.166.

Busch Series regular Paul Menard was among those who tested a Cup car here last week in preparation for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday evening, May 28.

"These Busch cars drive a lot better than the Cup cars do at this track," Menard said about his No. 11 Chevrolet. "They have a lot more spoiler which results in a lot more downforce, so I'm sure that helps. We have two cars. One is kind of an experimental piece and the other is our tried-and-true race car."

Even though the track sports a new coat of asphalt, Sauter said all the teams arrived for the test with the same basic chassis set-up. "We pretty much know what we want for a package when we get here," Sauter said.

"With everyone coil-binding the way we are, we pretty much run the same setup everywhere we go. Obviously, we're doing things like bump-steer, ackerman sweeps and things like that to find a little more front grip. The race track is different, the tire is a little bit different, but at the end of the day our procedure is still pretty much the same."

The caution flag was unfurled five times for single-car crashes during the seven-hour session. Jeff Burton, Scott Wimmer, Eric McClure, Danny O'Quinn and Matt McCall each found the SAFER barrier, but no injuries resulted.

NASCAR Busch Series testing for the May 27 Carquest Auto Parts 300 continues Wednesday. Teams will be on the track from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day with a one-hour dinner break at 5 p.m. Lowe's Motor Speedway's main grandstand will be open free of charge and spectators should enter through Gate 5A at the base of Smith Tower.

Tickets for all May events, including the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 on Saturday night, May 27, can be purchased online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-455-FANS.