New year brings new enthusiasm for testing

By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 2, 2002
9:41 PM EST (0241 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- You know you’ve got it tough when testing a race car is as much on your mind as getting married, but the dust has hardly settled from greeting 2002 and NASCAR race teams from coast to coast are gearing up for the coming season.

"I don't even want to look at (the) calendar," Busch Series veteran Hank Parker Jr. said of the Welliver-Jesel Motorsports test that began Wednesday at Talladega Superspeedway, but was quickly postponed by snow.

"The team and I have something going on almost every day. January's always hectic, but this is going to be ridiculous."

2002 Winston Cup Schedule  Cup preview set for January

Parker has an interesting perspective, since he’ll wed fiancée Wendy Alexander on Saturday before they fly to Hawaii for their honeymoon. For the rest of the NASCAR circus, it’s business as usual.

Showing that they never can get enough of a good thing, no less than nine of the NASCAR community are planning to come to Daytona International Speedway early to open a three-day test Thursday for the Rolex 24 At Daytona sports car race.

Winston Cup drivers Kyle Petty, John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, NBC/TNT TV commentator Wally Dallenbach, versatile Rick Carelli, and NASCAR Touring drivers Davey Liniger and John Metcalf are among those who have already announced commitments to do the race.

It is scheduled Feb. 2-3 as the opening event of Speedweeks 2002.

Matt Kenseth

Winston Cup teams will test in two sessions. On Jan. 7-9, teams that finished in the odd-numbered spots in the car owners’ point standings will test on the 2.5-mile trioval, with Jan. 10 serving as a rain date.

Among teams expected to be in attendance are those of two-time Daytona 500 champions Jeff Gordon and Sterling Marlin, three-time Daytona 500 champion Dale Jarrett, 2001 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Harvick and 2001 Pepsi 400 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.

On Jan. 14-16, the even-numbered teams in the owners’ standings will test, with Jan. 17 serving as a rain date. Teams expected for that test include those of Tony Stewart, Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Rusty Wallace and Jeff Burton.

Kenseth’s No. 17 Roush Racing team plans to have three cars ready to test as it scrambles to build no less than five new cars in the off-season.

"One of the cars we're taking to Daytona is one we ran last year," crew chief Robbie Reiser said. "We tested it in the wind tunnel (last) month and we were pleased with the results. We made some adjustments and now we feel it's ready to test on the track."

Mike Skinner

The two sessions will be the only testing time Winston Cup teams will have at Daytona before Speedweeks, but across the board teams in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series have numerous other sessions already scheduled throughout the month to prepare for the early races on the schedule.

“Any time you can test and try to get better, it’s very, very important,” said Mike Skinner, who takes over the driving reins of the No. 4 Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

Other test sessions at Daytona include those for the Goody’s Dash Series, NASCAR Touring, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series, all preparing for their Speedweeks season-openers.

Welliver-Jesel's Talladega test was scheduled early in the month to enable the team to build its new Dodge for Speedweeks using data acquired on-track.

Hank Parker Jr.

"The bare chassis is sitting in our shops, ready to go," crew chief Gary Cogswell said. "We're hoping that what we learn in Talladega will give us a little more information that we can incorporate into the new car. It's going to be tight to get the car ready in time, but we think we can pull it off."

Busch Series teams are scheduled to test at Daytona the week of Jan. 21, after many of the series’ teams unveil their new cars and paint schemes for 2002 at the Busch Series Preview in Charlotte, N.C., on Jan. 18.

"We've got the whole team hopping," Cogswell said. "We've got a bunch of new cars and new ideas for 2002, so that's keeping the guys pumped up.”