Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup participants Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr., along with Aric Almirola and J.J. Yeley, are taking part in a two-day Goodyear tire test today and Tuesday at Kansas Speedway.
The Hollywood Casino 400, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Kansas, marks the halfway point in this year’s 10-race Chase. It is also the second stop in the Contender Round of the elimination-style playoff.
An open team test is scheduled at Kansas on Wednesday following the two-day Goodyear test.
Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) is a six-time Sprint Cup champion and enters this weekend’s Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway as the top-seeded driver in the 16-car field. Truex (Furniture Row) is making his third Chase appearance and his first since 2012.
Almirola (Richard Petty Motorsports) is the Ford representative for the Goodyear portion of the test while Yeley and his BK Racing group is on hand as the Toyota-affiliated team.
Almirola finished just outside the cutoff for making this year’s Chase, failing to win a race and finishing 17 points behind Paul Menard (Richard Childress Racing) for the final spot.
Only one more open test is currently on tap for teams this season under the NASCAR National Series Unified Testing Policy Schedule – October 14 at Phoenix International Raceway. It will take place following a two-day Goodyear tire test at Phoenix slated for Oct 12-13.
Auto Club Speedway was scheduled to host the season’s final test on Oct. 27-29, but that has been canceled.