Among the unique challenges this week at Vegas and Fontana are determining which setup to use, says Kurt Busch. Credit: Autostock

Viva Las Vegas

Two-day test expected to help detail spoiler, tire changes for 2005

LAS VEGAS -- For the first time Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams will be allowed to test both at Las Vegas and Fontana in the preseason. And it appears like they will need every hour of the four-day test to adapt to the new rules changes.

For 2005, NASCAR cut off an inch of spoiler, and Goodyear responded by changing the compounds of their tires. Crew chiefs say the changes were so dramatic that they are still working round-the-clock to re-skin the cars in their fleets.

	Jay Frye
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More than 40 teams arrived in Las Vegas on Monday for the first of two days at the 1.5-mile track, which plays host to the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 on March 13. On Tuesday night, most of those teams will head west to Fontana for two days at the 2-mile California Speedway, which plays host to the Auto Club 500 on Feb. 27.

For the Busch Series, the schedules are reversed. Its teams will test Fontana on Monday and Tuesday, then Las Vegas on Wednesday and Thursday.

Even though it's two tracks, the sessions count as one official test, and with the new rules, they simply have too much at stake not to go. The cost for the teams is tremendous, running well into six figures.

"Things like that is something NASCAR has done to help us save money," said Jay Frye, general manager for MB2 Motorsports. "It's still expensive. A test is an event."

This test is more important than Daytona because it will provide data for downforce tracks -- assuming NASCAR keeps the current rules in place for the entire 2005 season.

BALANCE: FAST vs. LOOSE Crew chiefs in the Nextel Cup Series say the spoiler change for 2005 will require major adjustments to the front of the car.  When NASCAR lopped off an inch of spoiler, it immediately got mechanics wondering how they were going to get the car to stick to the track.  "You don't lop off that much spoiler and get it back, back in the day you could shift some things, can't do it anymore," said Robert "Bootie" Barker, crew chief for Mike Bliss. "It is going to change the racing."  "We don't have near the downforce," said Doug Randolph, crew chief for Scott Riggs. "So, with that being with that deficit, we are going to have to look at every other possible thing we can do to tie the back of the car down.  "NASCAR's thought process is that we will untie the front of the car to balance it down. We have to tie the back down to match the front, the main objective is figure out a way to run fast and not be loose."  But drivers say the cars will be loose no matter what, and that is just fine with Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin.  "Hopefully it will make it a little freer and make you have to drive the racecar more," Kahne said. "That is fine with me. I don't mind driving a car like that. I enjoy it."  "It's a no-brainer for me," said Martin. "I wished they would have done this (the spoiler change) in 1999 when I started begging them to do it."  Teams only have a few weeks to apply test data to the pair of Fontana and Las Vegas events.  "There is not enough time between the end of the California test and when we go back to Vegas to make big changes to your cars," said Jamie McMurray. "The guys who go out and have a really good test are going to go back and race well."  -- Ryan Smithson

"Obviously, the Daytona test applies to four races throughout the year," said Doug Randolph, crew chief for Scott Riggs. "Vegas and Fontana are going to apply all year long. It's our first chance to really see the new rules."

Teams will also use the test to see how the new gear rules and qualifying rules play out. At a majority of tracks in 2005, teams will have to qualify with their race setup or race with their qualifying setup.

"We have to qualify the same setup that we're going to race," Kurt Busch said. "Do you go for the race setup or do you go for the qualifying setup for track position? Those are the unique balances that we're going to test out this next week."

Some teams, like Randolph's, already have gotten a head start testing the new spoiler at tracks like Kentucky or Kansas, but very few of the teams have gotten a look at the new tire.

Greg Biffle is one of those select drivers who have driven with the new package; he tested for Goodyear at Las Vegas late last year.

Goodyear's new compound is believed to provide a tire that wears out quicker. In recent years, the tire compound has been getting more rigid, leading to many gas-and-go pit stops, even under caution.

"I don't know how it's (the spoiler and tire) going to react, but I'm real curious to find out once we get in a race type situation," Biffle said.

One thing is certain about the Las Vegas-Fontana test and the new rules: The cars are going to be very, very loose.

"Some people are going to be spinning. It is going to take some adjustments," said Robert "Bootie" Barker, crew chief for Mike Bliss. "Honestly, I think that is a fallacy when somebody says they can drive wicked loose. You can't hold on."

"We're going to have looser race cars," Busch said. "That's why there is such a demand to go to California and Vegas because of how different, I believe, the cars are going to drive."

Opinions differ on just how differently the cars will drive. Jamie McMurray doesn't see the changes as major, while some of the crew chiefs think this is the biggest change in years.

"I don't think it is going to be any different than what they did last year. They cut off 3/4 of an inch last year and everybody going into the Vegas test was all worried about it," McMurray said. "When the test was over, it wasn't that big of a deal."

Tony Eury Sr.

"All the drivers are going to have an uncomfortable feel and the guys who can adapt to that feel are going to have an advantage," Randolph said. "That is why this test is so important."

"I don't think any driver likes a loose racecar getting into the corner. Their biggest fear is getting loose and slapping the left side into the fence," said Tony Eury Sr., Director of Competition for DEI. "It's going to happen with a short spoiler. I think all the teams are going to struggle with it."

Eury is frustrated because his team has worked non-stop to ready his cars for the changes -- changes he says might be negated anyway.

"(NASCAR) will take spoiler off to get the cars to turn, but that is not going to happen. They are making decisions off the seat of their pants," Eury said. "If the racing stinks, they will change it. And that is exactly what will happen."