Lowe's to open tire test to fans; ticket holder special

CONCORD, N.C. -- Lowe's Motor Speedway's frontstretch grandstands will be open Tuesday and Wednesday allowing fans to watch Goodyear's tire test featuring four Sprint Cup drivers. Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Marcos Ambrose and Paul Menard will be preparing for the speedway's May races, including the 25th All-Star Race on May 16, and the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24.

As an added bonus, ticket holders for the Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 will be allowed to watch testing from a pit-road grandstand near Victory Lane from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Additionally, Kahne, Johnson, Ambrose and Menard all will take turns participating in a fan forum held in front of the infield grandstand during the lunch break from 12-1 p.m. The forum will be moderated by Performance Radio Network's Doug Rice and will allow fans to ask the drivers questions.

• Stay in the loop on the 600
• Get your tickets for all events

Goodyear holds tire tests throughout the year at various tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit to help determine the proper tire compound to use for the race weekends. They select a team to represent each of the four auto manufacturers and the tests are normally closed to the public.

"We want to provide as much added value as we can to our ticket holders, so we worked with Goodyear to allow the fans in to see a little on-track action in preparation for our May races," said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway. "We've also got a great lineup of drivers who've given up part of their lunch break to come out and interact with fans Wednesday."

Last May, Kahne became the latest driver to rule the competition at LMS by winning both the Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. In doing so, Kahne unseated reigning three-time Cup Series champion Johnson from his position of domination at the 1.5-mile speedway. Johnson, a five-time winner at Lowe's, swept both May Cup races at the track in 2003.

The tire test will mark Ambrose's first laps around LMS in a Cup car as the Australian native is competing in his first full season in the series. Menard has four starts at the track and his best finish is 14th.

During both days of the Goodyear tire test, LMS frontstretch grandstand will be open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and fans interested in watching should enter through Gate 5A, located next to the main ticket office.

Ticket holders for the May Cup races will need to check in at the speedway's ticket office on Wednesday to receive verification of their ticket purchase before entering the infield at Gate 26 starting at 10 a.m. From there they can access the infield grandstand and can participate in the special fan forum.

Tickets for the NASCAR race events at LMS are on sale now and can be obtained by calling 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com. Convenient payment plan options and affordable multi-day ticket packages are available.

Also
• 50 Years of Firsts to open Lowe's Month of May bash
• Online fan vote to decide greatest moment at Lowe's