The tests provide the lessons

Sporting News, The, Jan 20, 2003 by Lee Spencer

Is all this expensive preseason testing really necessary? Well, yes--particularly this year. Twenty-five teams, 43 cars and four manufacturers converged on Daytona International Speedway last week for the first of two testing sessions. Cars that finished in odd-numbered spots in 2002 points tested last week; the even-numbered finishers were scheduled to test this week.

They'll take home a wealth of information about how their cars conform to the new body requirements for 2003 and how competitive their cars might be for NASCAR's Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 in February.

The Fords have a new tail. The Dodges have a new nose. Pontiac and Chevrolet have completely new bodies. Each car must conform to 32 templates, 16 of which are common to all cars, including the F3 template that runs from nose to tail.

Naturally enough, the first concern for many teams was to make sure their cars fit the templates. Otherwise, the test sessions would have been futile. That's why it was common to see a crew chief pull an already dog-eared copy of NASCAR's 2003 rulebook from his back pocket.

Not surprisingly, many teams subjected themselves voluntarily to a version of the rigorous inspection they'll face at races to make sure that their interpretation of the rules agreed with NASCAR's.

Cheating now would produce false information that wouldn't help a team in the future.

Of particular concern to the teams was getting the car's body in the right place on the frame. NASCAR has reduced the variance the body position can have relative to the rear axle from 4 inches to a half inch. The wider variance allowed teams to change the body position for certain types of tracks. Now, the body position for all races will be close to where teams previously placed the bodies for restrictor-plate cars. In addition, 50 percent of the car's required weight must be balanced over the rear axle. The teams had to meet those specifications before they even could think about fine-tuning their machines for maximum speed.

NASCAR also required that the restrictor plate be the size required for the Daytona and Talladega races, the diameter of the holes measuring seven-eighths of an inch.

Most teams completed 230 to 250 laps during the sessions (they'll run 200 in the 500). They now are armed with new information, as are those of us who observed them in the garage and on the track.

* If parity is a goal, the common templates have been a success. There were nine Chevrolets, four Pontiacs, five Fords and seven Dodges at the first session, and no manufacturer had a discernible advantage in speed. Parity is as important to NASCAR as it is to the NFL, and NASCAR should be elated with the first test results.

The use of common templates also means that the teams that switched manufacturers don't have to make dramatic changes. Joe Gibbs Racing didn't lose a beat switching from Pontiac to Chevrolet. Gibbs driver Tony Stewart, the defending Winston Cup champion, remained around the top of the speed charts throughout last week's tests. Morgan-McClure Motorsports, which has won five races at Daytona and has switched from Chevy to Pontiac, had a front-running car, driven by Mike Skinner. Rusty Wallace noticed little if any difference between his old Ford and his new Dodge; he made noticeable gains over the three-day test.

* Crew chiefs already have dialed in the weight balance and body location. All four makes were able to test at Talladega before arriving at Daytona, and though there were minor changes made to the bodies last week, there didn't seem to be a mad scramble as we've seen in the past.

* Sandbagging--not running your fastest in testing, concealing your team's full potential--may be a thing of the past. Teams never want to tip their hands before the Bud Shootout and the Twin 125 qualifying races on February 13, but they have less than a month before the cars have to be ready to return to Daytona. Consequently, the two testing sessions placed a premium on identifying weaknesses and addressing them. It wasn't practical to play possum, especially if you need to prove to potential sponsors that you can be competitive during Speedweeks.

* Although NASCAR offered an hour of drafting last Thursday afternoon, only nine drivers participated. Those drivers probably got some indication of the kind of downforce the common template cars produce, but it's really necessary to draft in larger packs to obtain a more accurate feel.

* The testing format favors teams that have cars at both sessions. The information gathered by Roush Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Hendrick Motorsports, Robert Yates Racing, Ganassi Racing and Penske South during the first tests benefited teammates who tested this week.

Crew chiefs in the second session had notes to refer to when they unloaded the cars. For example, four drivers who have 12 wins among them at Daytona--Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin--started the second session ahead of the curve. That's a frightening proposition for their fellow drivers.