HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Say goodbye to Preseason Thunder, the two weeks of testing that historically precede the Daytona 500. Say goodbye to race teams circumventing NASCAR test limits by sneaking off to out-of-the-way short tracks. Say goodbye to any testing at all -- for the 2009 season, at least -- on any facility hosting events on NASCAR's three national circuits or top regional tours.

“

We get a lot of practice. We get almost three hours of practice every weekend. That's a lot. If we can't learn it by then, we shouldn't be in the sport.

”

-- DENNY HAMLIN

NASCAR chairman Brian France said last week that the series would consider aggressive cost-cutting measures to try and save race teams money in a slumping economy, and the first cut was a whopper. Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, two days before the end of the season, officials announced that testing would be suspended as of Jan. 1 on any track hosting Sprint Cup, Nationwide, Truck, or Camping World touring events. NASCAR informed the race teams on Friday morning, and series president Mike Helton said he anticipates the ban lasting for all of next season.

"There are a lot of unknowns," driver Jeff Burton said. "I've never been a part of the sport when testing was banned, so I'm not sure of the consequences of that. I do believe that testing is a way for a struggling team to improve. But I also believe we're in severe times, and we need to have severe actions."

Earlier this year, NASCAR had explored the idea of a much more liberal testing policy than the one in effect for 2008, which allowed a handful of group sessions at select tracks. There was even talk of doing away with all limits, and allowing open testing. But that was before the economy turned south, before domestic manufacturers began to report heavy losses, and before a sponsorship squeeze left many organizations without full-time backing secured for next season.

How much should organizations expect to save?

"We don't know what the number is per team, we don't know what the collective number is for the industry," Helton said. "We do know, or have a pretty good feel through the due diligence we've done, that it's in the range of tens of millions [of dollars] to the garage area."

Reaction among competitors was almost universally positive, from drivers happy to have a little more time off to car owners who see the measure as a way of saving money that's hard to come by right now. Testing is an expensive proposition, requiring the transport of several crewmen and truckloads of equipment, and costing teams an estimated $100,000 a day. (Continued)