Notes: Franchitti takes full advantage of test sessions (cont'd)

Smooth transition continues for Kenseth

Matt Kenseth, who will attempt to win his second consecutive February event at California later this month, is working with new crew chief Chip Bolin, who succeeds his longtime boss, Robbie Reiser. And Kenseth said the good thing about the leadership transition is that Bolin -- his former team engineer -- has nearly as much tenure with the team as Reiser did. (read more)

"It really hasn't been much different," Kenseth said. "It's been really a good week, actually. We've had a little bit of everything. I think the biggest adjustment probably is more for Chip than it is for me. We worked together for nine years. If we can't communicate by now, we've got a major problem."

Reiser moved into a general manager's role for all of Roush Fenway Racing, a move Kenseth applauds. He said Bolin's biggest challenges will be adjusting to personnel and travel details that he might not have handled before.

"He's got some of that stuff to adjust to," Kenseth said. "I think it will be a pretty easy transition as far as switching crew chiefs go. If it was somebody from the outside, somebody I haven't worked with, from a different team or something, I think I'd have a lot more anxiety and it would be a little more maybe hard to adjust. But this hasn't been a big adjustment."

Neither, apparently, has performance. Kenseth pronounced this week's tests at Las Vegas (speeds) and California (speeds) an overall success.

"I thought these cars drove really well, probably better than I expected them to," he said. "We had a pretty productive and good week of testing."

Darby pleased with West Coast tests

As Friday's laps wound down at California, Sprint Cup Series director John Darby professed satisfaction with both Preseason Thunder sessions.

"The whole week was excellent," he said. "I'm very pleased."

According to Darby, teams' work at both Las Vegas and California validated the new car's stability, driving comfort and tire performance.

"What we know is the teams have gained a ton of knowledge -- tires, handling, and so on," he said. "What we'll see now is how they'll apply it."