Edwards: "This is like the first practice session"
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- More than one dozen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams spent Wednesday testing at Bristol Motor Speedway, preparing for next month's return when the high-banked, half-mile track hosts the Irwin Tools Night Race.
"The surface here doesn't change a lot, but the groove changes a lot," Joe Gibbs Racing's Carl Edwards said of the concrete racing surface during a break in the eight-hour session. "People end up racing right up against the fence.
"We're not really able to do that today. Basically, this is like the first practice session (of a race weekend) -- when we show up (in August), the race track will be like this."
Still, with only six races remaining before the field is officially set for this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup, any opportunity to improve one's chances for one of the six events isn't taken lightly.
"Seventy-five percent (of what we do today) is relevant," Edwards said. "We're just not really able to run up there to that high groove."
Edwards, a winner in this year's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, hasn't officially locked in a spot in the 16-team Chase field, but for he and a handful of others that have already won this year, it's a formality.
Three of Edwards' 24 career wins in Sprint Cup have come at BMS and he was fast here on Wednesday. He also cut a tire down during the afternoon session, and contact with the wall did a bit of cosmetic damage to the No. 19 Toyota.
"We know exactly what we were lacking when we came here the last race," he said, "so it gives us the opportunity to work on some things."
In addition to Edwards, other teams taking part in the test were Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing), Joey Logano (Team Penske), Aric Almirola (Richard Petty Motorsports), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing), Paul Menard (Richard Childress Racing), David Ragan (Michael Waltrip Racing), Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates), Danica Patrick (Stewart-Haas Racing), Travis Kvapil (TMG), Kasey Kahne (Hendrick Motorsports) and Landon Cassill (Mike Hillman Racing).
Logano and Kahne are also previous winners at Bristol.
Stenhouse is still searching for his first Sprint Cup win; the fast BMS track seems to suit his driving style. The 27-year-old has finished sixth or higher in his last three starts here.
"It's just fun," Stenhouse Jr. said. "I like running the top, it kind of reminds me of a dirt track the way you can really kind of turn to the right getting into the corner once we get some rubber down on the top lane. We haven't gotten it quite high enough today, but we've worked pretty far up there."
The RFR driver is 27th in points, and his fourth-place finish here earlier this year has been his only top 10.
"Honestly, being 18th or 19th in points or where we are, if you don't have a win, you're still outside (the Chase)," he said. "I could be eight spots better and it really wouldn't do me any good other than obviously we're getting better finishes, better results."
A two-time XFINITY Series champion, Stenhouse said the No. 17 team has improved -- "I think we're getting better," he said -- but the gap between his group and the leaders is still a wide one.
"That's why we really kind of embraced coming to this test," he said. "It's been a good race for us in the past. Out of the races that are left, it's probably our best shot to catch a break.
"We've been close (here); we know we're not exactly there yet. But we know if we make the right adjustments and get the car a little better, then we'll have the opportunity. And really, that's all you can ask for."
The Irwin Tools Night Race is scheduled for Aug. 22 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).