Winston Cup teams set to test new regulations
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 6, 2002
4:30 PM EST (2130 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The NASCAR Winston Cup pre-season rules shuffle has already begun, as more than 20 teams will open a three-day test Monday at Daytona International Speedway with a slightly altered rules package in place.
NASCAR also announced, ostensibly due to the extended practice time during the 10-day event and the unique qualifying formula that includes 125-mile qualifying races, that teams would be allowed to change engines following qualifying for the Daytona 500.
At all other events this season, teams are required to race with the same engine with which they qualify. NASCAR's release noted that all internal engine parts must conform to the minimum weights for the 2002 season.
After examining a composite seat designed and built by owner Cal Wells III's PPI organization for much of last season, NASCAR has also approved its use in 2002. Previously, only aluminum seats have been approved for use.
For the two Winston Cup test sessions at Daytona, NASCAR has announced that cars will run with a certain set of specifications, including a slightly smaller restrictor plate for all four manufacturers and slight aerodynamic concessions for teams using the Ford Taurus and Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Teams scheduled to test Monday-Wednesday include those that finished in the odd numbered positions in the 2001 Winston Cup owner points. Drivers expected include four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, Sterling Marlin, 1999 champion Dale Jarrett, 2001 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NASCAR said it would wait until after the teams that finished in the even numbered positions in the owner points have their three-day test Jan. 14-16 before making a final decision on the rules package for the Feb. 17 Daytona 500 and the other stock car events during Speedweeks 2002.
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Jeff Gordon is set to begin testing Monday.
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Daytona's pre-season tests will not be manufacturer-specific for the first time in more than 15 years, with all four car types present at each test. Thursday of each week has been set aside in case weather does not cooperate on any of the three test days.
"[This] is the way it should be," said Todd Parrott, team manager for three-time Daytona 500 champion Jarrett. "They're mixing all the cars up. It's going to make it fun and different."
For this month's tests, NASCAR had already announced teams would not use the controversial roof spoilers and lips on the rear spoilers. These devices were part of the package used in 2001 that created an outcry after a huge backstretch crash on the last lap of the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The latest bulletin indicates rear spoilers for all four manufacturers would be set at a 55-degree angle, rather than the 70-degree setting used at Talladega. For Fords, Dodges and Pontiacs, rear spoilers will be 6.5 inches tall -- the same as they were at Talladega. Chevrolets' rear spoilers will be just 6.25 inches tall.
All cars' rear spoilers will be 57 inches wide, unlike Talladega where the Pontiacs and Dodges were at 59 inches, the Chevrolets 57 and the Fords 55.5.
Fords were also granted an additional half-inch kick-out of their air dams below the front bumper. That measurement had been one inch and is now 1.5 inches. Measurements for the Dodge (1.5 inches), Chevrolet (2.5) and Pontiac (.5) remain as previously announced.
As it is every year, Monday is the first opportunity for drivers to work with new teams for the first time, as Dave Blaney, Mike Skinner, Stacy Compton and Geoffrey Bodine will do. It is also a chance for new crew chiefs to begin a yearlong communication process with their drivers and crews.
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Mark Martin
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Among the new chief mechanics who will have their first chance to work at Daytona with their drivers and teams are: Ben Leslie with Mark Martin, Jimmy Fennig with Kurt Busch, Jimmy Elledge with Dale Jarrett, Charley Pressley with Bobby Hamilton, Chad Knaus with Jimmie Johnson and Jim Long with Terry Labonte.
"I'm ready to start the process of getting to know the new team," said Martin, whose 32 wins -- 14 with Fennig -- are the fourth most by any active driver in Winston Cup. Team owner Jack Roush swapped Leslie and Fennig after the 2001 season, Martin's first winless campaign since 1996 and the first time he'd finished out of the top 10 in points since 1989.
"I know Ben well, but I've never worked with him as my crew chief and I'm ready to start with the new process," Martin said. "You get to go out and run your stuff and evaluate what you have built. It's a process where you can bring a car to a certain level of performance and find just what it can do."
Tests are conducted daily, track conditions permitting, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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