KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Goodyear will hold its first on-track test of a larger tire on Tuesday and Wednesday at Richmond International Raceway, exciting some drivers about the possibilities it represents.

“

I'm excited that Goodyear is trying to look for new opportunities for the teams and the drivers. Hopefully they'll have success in developing the new tire.

”

-- DALE EARNHARDT JR.

"First and foremost, this is a normal tire test for us," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of race tire sales. "We're going to Richmond to work on our short track set-up, looking for some things we might want to evaluate further before next season.

"The second part of the Richmond test is very preliminary and is our first opportunity to get the larger size tire on the track. We've been very happy with the lab work on the larger tire and the modeling results that we've seen, so the next logical step is to get this tire on the ground."

Roush Fenway Racing drivers Matt Kenseth and Travis Kvapil will handle the driving duties for the test, with the organization bringing a specific car to accommodate the larger tire. The new tire is 1.5 inches wider than the current NASCAR tire, and will be run on 17-inch wheels compared to the current 15-inch configuration.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who drives the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, said he is thrilled about what it might mean -- although Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, cautioned that no switch to a larger tire is imminent and that the upcoming test mostly is to make sure the current tire set-up and program is in order for the upcoming 2010 season.

"I'm excited that Goodyear is trying to look for new opportunities for the teams and the drivers," Earnhardt said. "Hopefully they'll have success in developing the new tire. A taller, wider tire could do a significant amount of things to the handling and the characteristics of how the car feels and drives.

"Obviously if the tire is wider it'll have a much more larger contact patch, and probably will pick up quite a bit of corner speed. ... If the sidewall gets smaller, there's a chance it will get harder -- and I've always liked a stiffer sidewall, because I have a more direct feeling of what the right rear or the right front is doing. A softer sidewall sort of dilutes the feeling of how much grip the actual tire has. So I've always had more success when the sidewalls are stiffer, especially on the left side of the car."

Pemberton, meanwhile, made it clear that drivers shouldn't get their hopes up too much about a possible change.

"Both Goodyear and NASCAR work on research and development programs all the time, and that's what we have here," Pemberton said. "In fact, one of the goals of this test is to further enhance the reliability and performance of the current 15-inch tire that we use today. There is absolutely no timetable whatsoever in regards to the possibility of having a new tire."

THE FEUD CONTINUES

Last weekend's run-in with Brad Keselowski is still on the front burner for driver Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin

Hamlin was running in the top five in his fifth Nationwide Series appearance of the season last Saturday when Keselowski, a Nationwide regular, attempted a pass to the inside. Contact between the cars sent Hamlin's Toyota spinning into the outside wall (watch video).

Keselowski maintained he had position and that Hamlin cut him off. Hamlin attributed the accident to an overly-aggressive move on the part of Keselowski. On Sunday, both drivers will compete in the Price Chopper 400 Cup race at Kansas Speedway.

"I still don't agree with him, and he hasn't called me to reach out to say he's sorry, so as far as I'm concerned, he needs to be worried whenever I'm around," Hamlin warned.

So is this a burgeoning rivalry?

"I don't know about rivals," Hamlin said. "I hate to give him that much credit, to be honest with you. It's just a pain in the you-know-what."

If Hamlin plans to get close to Keselowski on Sunday, he'll have some catching up to do after qualifying 22nd on Friday. Keselowski earned the third starting position.

After time trials, Keselowski weighed in on the situation.

"I didn't know I was supposed to call him -- I thought he was supposed to call me," Keselowski said.

ALMOST AMBULATORY

Edwards

Chase driver Carl Edwards has been on crutches since breaking two bones in his right foot playing Frisbee four days before the Sept. 6 Cup race at Atlanta. Needless to say, the athletic Edwards is looking forward to regaining some freedom of movement.

"Just one more week on the crutches, and -- trust me -- I can't wait," Edwards said Friday at Kansas. "It's not a factor in the car, just getting around."

The injury has been painful to Edwards when he mashes the gas pedal in the race car, but he ran fast enough Friday to qualify 17th for Sunday's race.

Sporting News Wire Service contributed to this report.