Cancel any trips you've got scheduled to attend NASCAR's preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway in January 2009. (Yeah, all four of you.)NASCAR announced Friday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- site of the season-finale events for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and the Craftsman (soon to be Camping World) Truck Series -- that all testing on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks will be banned in 2009. From the Charlotte Observer:
The suspension of testing, primarily a cost-cutting measure, includes preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway.I've got to say that NASCAR is making an intelligent decision here to cut travel costs, but if you think for a minute that this move will save team's -- especially ones in the Sprint Cup Series -- extraordinary amounts of money, think again.
Teams still will be allowed to test at NASCAR weekly racing series tracks - such as Hickory Motor Speedway or Concord Motorsport Park in the Charlotte area where most operations are based - and at tracks not affiliated with NASCAR.
The decision, for example, could be a boost to Rockingham Speedway and its new owner, Andy Hillenburg. Hillenburg has built a short-track testing facility adjacent to the one-mile oval that used to host NASCAR events.
As soon as that announcement broke this morning, I'd bet that nearly every wind tunnel in the country was booked for the next six months nearly simulataneously. It will, however, allow some of the sport's smaller teams to close the performance gap -- which may be an alterior motive for NASCAR.
Regardless, the rule change is just another sign of how bad the economy really is and how it's affecting the NASCAR industry as a whole. Is it as big of a deal as the Earnhardt-Ganassi Merger from earlier this week? Probably not. But it's still a pretty big deal.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-14-2008 @ 5:18PM
Maveness said...
Question a friend raised that needs some looking into - how does this affect tire testing? Are we going to have a year of Goodyear playing guessing games, or is every team going to get to tire test at least once?
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11-14-2008 @ 6:23PM
RALPH BAYS said...
When is NASCAR going to wake up and dump this screwed up network ABC. Live in the RENO area and they have problems for 3 months with their sound. Sent many comments to them and they always state we are working on it. Whatever that means?? I cannot believe they cut from the race for FHM? WAKE UP NASCAR YOU ARE LOSING LOTS OF FANS.
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11-15-2008 @ 8:28PM
mr big stuff said...
why did nascar make the toyotas loose horse power in order to make the cars even,the smart move would have been to up the american cars to match the toyotas,it seems to me that we should make our cars as good or better than the toyotas not lower them to our levels .
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11-16-2008 @ 1:13AM
Robert said...
This is just another way for nascar to control the teams so they can manipulate the outcome. They will suddenly realize this is a bad idea and then come up with some "special" teams for "special" testing. Instead of this idiotic move how about set the schedule up to reduce going back and forth across the country? Use electronic fuel injection, this would improve mileage. Require teams to use the same engine for 2 races, if an engine fails the team is penalized. Require teams to use actual factory produced bodies and only allow addition of a wing and spoiler. This would eliminate all of the body work, wind tunnel testing etc.
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11-20-2008 @ 9:29AM
Edward said...
Dear Robert You must be new to NASCAR racing. The cars that are racing are nothing like the cars you buy at the showroom. The cars you buy at the showroom are 4 door sedans. NASCAR also has a common template. This means all the cars are alike. The race car is wider and the wheelbases are different. The days of using factory sheetmetal ended when the auto industry downsized. The number one expense race teams are hurting over is DRIVERS and the amount they demand to do something they would do for free or in many cases paid to do. With all the layoffs being made by race teams are due to the high expenses paid to the drivers. The COT cars hurt the teams deeply, but it is the drivers making about 10 millions dollars a year that has hurt NASCAR the most.
11-20-2008 @ 9:47AM
Karen said...
Why do the race teams pay their drivers that much money? I can see why the teams are going under or merging. It sounds to me that greedy Dale Jr started the greed among drivers last year wanting half of his famiily's team. Jr wanted to steal the money right out of his own borther and sisters pockets. When will reporters begin reporting on these greedy drivers?
Jr I blame for making his father's race team go out of business. I wonder if Jr visits his father's grave with a full bladder and leaves with an empty bladder.
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11-20-2008 @ 11:31PM
Rob C said...
I hope with these problems actual racing will come back. Racing where manafactures cars are used and products evolved from racing are put in the cars we buy. As far as drivers being paid so much? The top in any sport are waaaay over paid! Other sports 20 to 30 million a year is not unusual for top players. Most how ever make less than 1 million a year just like most drivers make under 1 million. The prima donnas seem to feel they bring in the money so they should get a good portion of it. I agree they are over paid, but how much are the owners making if they can pay this? Why do drivers like Derrike Cope qualify, then race for 5 to 10 laps and drop out? Somebody is making lots of money this way. As long as fans idolize drivers and while nascar and the teams race for money instead of the love of racing. Nothing will change until they out price themselves. They are close to that now if they haven't already done it!
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11-20-2008 @ 11:49PM
Shoulda' been different said...
I don't think Jr wanted to steal money from his siblings. He didn't want Teresa to get all that their dad had worked for. Teresa is the mother to only the youngest (Taylor Nicole Earnhardt), she turns 20 this year. All the other siblings were born to a different mother. Jr had worked with his dad, he drove for his dad while his dad drove for Childress. He knew what his dad wanted for the team. Teresa just wanted control and the money. It's awful to see what she has done to this team. She seems just like Georgia Frontiere, the former Rams owner. For those of you that know football, you know what I mean. They were an up an coming team, now look at where they are.
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