DAYTONA BEACH -- The Nextel Cup offseason, the shortest in professional sports, comes to an end this morning when engines are fired for the first of two three-day preseason testing sessions at Daytona International Speedway.
Teams that finished in the odd positions in 2005 owner's points will comprise the bulk of attendees at the first session while their brethren who finished in the even positions will test from Jan. 16-18 with the exception of a few organizations that switched dates.
While racing-starved fans eagerly await and embrace the arrival of testing, the drivers and their teams deal with the mind-numbing, repetitive nature of running two laps at a time for the first two days until the cars are allowed to draft on the final day of each session.
But thanks to a change in rules governing where teams can test this season, the Daytona sessions take on more urgency than they have in the past since they will represent the only opportunity for drivers and crews to prepare for restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega.
NASCAR has mandated for 2006 that Cup teams only cantest six times and those tests must be at Daytona, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Richmond and Homestead -- and this is key -- using Goodyear tires they will use in races. Cup teams are allowed to test as much as they desire at tracks that don't host Cup events, but they can't use current Goodyear race tires at those tests.
So expect everyone to be paying a little more attention.
Drivers expected to test at Daytona beginning today are: Jimmie Johnson, Mike McLaughlin (subbing for 2005 champion Tony Stewart), Elliott Sadler, Ryan Newman, Jeremy Mayfield, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, Kasey Kahne, David Stremme, Reed Sorenson, Ken Schrader, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott, Greg Sacks and Scott Wimmer.
Drivers expected to test from Jan. 16-18 are: Joe Nemechek, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Green, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Sterling Marlin, J.J. Yeley, Dave Blaney, Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, Kyle Petty, Brent Sherman, Michael Waltrip, Carl Edwards, Paul Tracy/Robby Gordon, Travis Kvapil, Scott Riggs, Dale Jarrett and Mike Wallace.
With all this in mind, we offer our top 5 things to look for during testing.
1. Speeds mean nothing.Cars are equipped with on-board computers that relay telemetry back to engineers in the garage, something that is taboo during the season. This allows teams to tinker and tweak to no end with little regard to the rules. Also, more than a few cars will be running "experimental" equipment that would not make it through inspection on race weekends.
2. Optimism means nothing.See No. 1. Also, teams will accuse each other of sandbagging and other sins, which leads us to our next item.
3. The whining.Drivers, crew chiefs, team owners and engineers, not to mention the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, will begin lobbying for aerodynamic changes, or more horsepower or more or less spoiler, or harder or softer tires the moment they get off their airplanes. Nothing ever changes.
4. It's all about jelling.With just about half the field in new rides or driving for new teams, the three-day sessions allow some serious quality time everyone hopes pays off during the regular season.
5. News will be made.NASCAR and the teams like to draw attention to things right out of the gate by announcing new rules or procedures or sponsors. Hints are news could break about Toyota's entrance into Nextel Cup, expected in 2007.
Contact DeCotis at 242-3786 or mdecotis@flatoday.net
