Atlanta Motor Speedway is tough enough for full-time teams that aren't breaking in a rookie driver. Steven Lane and the rest of the No. 40 Dodge team will contend with the fast 1.54-mile oval and give Bryan Clauson his coming-out party this weekend in Georgia.

"It's tough in two ways," Lane said of attempting NASCAR's fastest track with a 19-year-old rookie driver. "Having to make the race and unload without a lot of practice time is really the biggest thing we're facing."

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I don't think you're going to call the race any different than you normally would, no matter who is driving the car.

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STEVEN LANE

Lane's plight is common this time of year, as teams plan out the moves they're going to make for 2009. Driver changes, crew changes, all kinds of changes are being worked on by the teams not in the Chase.

"Our original plan when we went to Charlotte with him was, we were going to get two days to test, and then we went back and unloaded in qualifying trim and all we have to do is make the race," Lane said. "We had already done all our race prep. We knew how we were going to handle everything. Even though Atlanta is sort of like Charlotte, now we've got to unload in qualifying trim to get him in the race. He'll have maybe 10 laps of practice and then he's got to go qualify."

Clauson was slated to make his debut at Charlotte, but the rains came and washed out qualifying. Lane and the No. 40 team have to adapt to the changed circumstances.

"The biggest thing we're worried about is him being able to pick out where his marks are going to be, how he's going to drive this racetrack," he said. "He's got a whole different racecar than what he's used to."

Clauson has tested the new car, but never raced it, and it is much different from the Nationwide Series car in which Clauson has been training.

"The biggest thing I see with the [new car] is it's more of a handful to drive," Lane said. "The Nationwide car, with more downforce and less motor, they've got to be easier to drive. The [new] car has a higher CG, less downforce and more horsepower. And you're looking at a lot tighter field when it comes to qualifying."

That presents Lane with a challenge as far as setting up the car.

"It's just getting it to his liking," he said. "He's going to get an hour and 45 minutes of practice time total, and we have to make it drive as well as we can for him keeping in mind that he really doesn't know what one of these things is supposed to feel like. The test at Charlotte was good and it helped him some. We're going to have to rely on our teammates to get a baseline setup and say, 'this is what it's supposed to feel like; now go and make it work.'"

Another degree of difficulty is the fact that Atlanta is much harder on tires than is Charlotte. (Continued)