Did Busch get advantage in tire test? Biffle says indeed (cont'd)

Jeff Burton, who sits fifth in the point standings, said the matter deserves some attention but he doesn't feel disadvantaged.

"I don't want to say it's not an issue but to this point in the year I don't feel like that anyone has been slighted in being asked to do a tire test," said Burton, who added that NASCAR should be mindful when scheduling the rotation of tire tests. "If we got in a situation where we had 10 races and we did two tire tests and we were a Chase team, and we were the only Chase team not to get invited ... then we might have some concern with that."

Busch himself said the test session won't necessarily give his No. 18 team an advantage in the Atlanta race.

"I think the tire actually is going to bring everybody closer together than what it did in the spring," he said. "You really saw the good drivers, you really saw the good cars come out and this will sort of even it up a little bit.

"We seemed to be pretty good there in the spring, and for our tests we really couldn't work on anything so I don't see it as though it was an advantage because you are strictly there doing tire tests for [Goodyear]. You can't change your car setup as soon as you get it close; you just pretty much stay with it."

Regardless of an advantages or lack thereof, drivers should more pleased with the new tire, Busch said.

"We got a better tire now than what we had in the spring, but the tire is only going to be better for eight or 10 laps," he said. "The car just doesn't have the amount of downforce it needs to run around that track, and the more and more you go you just get so loose in and tight in the center and loose off that you just can't stand it. It's going to be a tough race again -- same as what it was there in the spring. Not a whole lot different."

Stu Grant, Goodyear's general manager of global racing, said many people felt the tire maker was too conservative in the selection for Atlanta's spring race, the first for the track with the new car.

"Based upon the data and driver feedback at the test this week, we believe that we've found a solid package for the fall race," Grant said.