New Season New Faces New Outlook?

After what felt like an eternity away from the track, NASCAR has returned to Daytona for Pre-Season testing.  There were lots of new faces in the JGR #11 Fed Ex garage.  Gone are former Crew Chief Mike Ford and former Spotter Curis Markham, all in an effort to elevate Denny Hamlin to the next level of his career.  A move that has been a long time in the making, and is one that I truly believe will make not only the driver, but the entire team better.

So who are the new faces of the Fed Ex team? Well the Crew Chief will definitely look familiar to you.  He's none other than Darian Grubb, former Sprint Cup winning Crew Chief for 2011 NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart.  Stewart's loss is definitely our gain.  He's a racing master mind and will be a fabulous asset to the team and to Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin's new spotter is Chris Lambert, former spotter for Brian Vickers.  I'm not as familiar with Chris Lambert, but definitely feel the change in eyes and communication for Denny will be the most positive modification the team has made. The constant bickering and yelling on the radio had gotten old long ago and I'm ready for some good things for my driver.

Judging by the smiles on Denny's face during testing and Pre-Season Thunder fan meet and greet, things are definitely going in the right direction.  I like Hamlin's positive outlook, his focus seems to be on racing and getting back to basics.  I don't think moving to Scottsdale, AZ for a few months to clear his head and get away from the business of life has hurt him any.  I for one really like the changes I'm seeing all over JGR and especially with Denny Hamlin. 2012 has so much potential.  It has a clean slate with multiple possibilities.  All that's waiting is for the Fed Ex team to write their history.  And I can't wait to read the headlines.

Friday Testing Results

Friday's afternoon test session is over after 240 scheduled minutes, the five fastest drivers :
#51-KuBusch 206.058
#78-Smith 206.053
#18-KyBusch 205.813
#24-Gordon 205.747
Testing Notes:
After the morning session, NASCAR met with the drivers to encourage them to draft in a large pack of cars at the start of the session to see how the cars react. All teams except the #48 participated.
#31-Burton made contact with the wall during the pack drafting when he cut down a tire. The team will repair the car.
28 drivers exceed 200mph.
Driver again tested in a large pack with an hour remaining in the session before returning to two car drafts.
Denny Hamlin's Testing Results:
AM Session:
24th fastest. Fastest Time: 43.903  Fastest Speed: 194.788

PM Session:
8th fastest.  Fastest Time:  43.903  Fastest Speed:  204.997

More Changes In Store At Daytona Testing

If NASCAR's objective was to eliminate tandem drafting at restrictor-plate racetracks, based on Thursday's first Preseason Thunder test session at Daytona International Speedway, it remains a work in progress.  Accordingly, in a meeting with crew chiefs at approximately 5:30 p.m. Thursday, NASCAR announced additional modifications to a restrictor-plate competition package that already had undergone major changes in the offseason.

Even though Kyle Busch topped the speed chart in Thursday afternoon's Preseason Thunder test session at Daytona International Speedway at 202.402 mph-in a tandem draft with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano-NASCAR will make the cars faster, less stable and more prone to overheating on Friday. The sanctioning body increased the diameter of restrictor-plate openings 1/32nd of an inch to 15/16ths inches, adding an estimated 26 horsepower to the engines. In addition, NASCAR has lowered the pressure relief valve settings from 30 pounds per square inch to 25 psi and narrowed the grille openings of the cars, thereby decreasing airflow to the engine. Both measures are designed to decrease the number of laps one car can push another without overheating.

NASCAR announced more changes for Sprint Cup Series teams after the second day of testing at Daytona International Speedway on Friday. Teams will receive a smaller restrictor plate with an opening of 29/32nd of an inch, down from 15/16ths, to decrease the amount of air intake to the engine. The radiator opening was shrunk from 3.5-by-18 inches to 2-by-20 inches, or from 63 square inches to 40. And the pressure relief valve is now 21 pounds per square inch from the 25psi they used Friday.

The top speed in Friday's test session was set 90 minutes into the afternoon by Kurt Busch. He ran a 206.058-mph average lap working in tandem with his regular drafting partner, Regan Smith. Busch hit 210.9 mph down the backstretch, the fastest portion of the track.

Pre-Season Testing at Daytona

Here is the schedule for NASCAR Pre-Season Thunder Testing at Daytona International Speedway.

Thursday, January 12th7:30 AM Garage Opens
9:00 AM 12:00 PM Practice
1:00 PM 5:00 PM Practice - Drafting
6:00 PM Garage Closes

Friday, January 13th7:30 AM Garage Opens
9:00 AM 12:00 PM NSCS PPractice - Drafting
1:00 PM 5:00 PM NSCS Practice - Drafting
6:00 PM Garage Closes

Saturday, January 14th

7:30 AM Garage Opens

9:00 AM 12:00 PM Practice - Drafting

1:00 PM 5:00 PM Practice - Drafting

6:00 PM Garage Closes

Sunday, January 15th Optional - Rain Date

Participating Teams:

• 1-Jamie McMurray
• 2-Brad Keselowski
• 5-Kasey Kahne
• 6-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
• 9-Marcos Ambrose
• 10-Danica Patrick
• 11-Denny Hamlin
• 13-Casey Mears
• 14-Tony Stewart
• 15-Clint Bowyer
• 16-Greg Biffle
• 17-Matt Kenseth
• 18-Kyle Busch
• 20-Joey Logano
• 21-Trevor Bayne
• 22-A.J. Allmendinger
• 24-Jeff Gordon
• 27-Paul Menard
• 29-Kevin Harvick
• 31-Jeff Burton
• 36-Dave Blaney
• 39-Ryan Newman
• 42-Juan Pablo Montoya
• 43-Aric Almirola
• 48-Jimmie Johnson
• 51-Kurt Busch
• 55-Mark Martin
• 56-Martin Truex, Jr.
• 78-Regan Smith
• 87-Joe Nemechek
• 88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
• 99-Carl Edwards

Martinsville Test Helps Continued EFI Development

For the third time this month, Sprint Cup Series teams tested Electronic Fuel Injection on track, as 10 cars churned out laps around the .526-mile paper clip layout at Martinsville Speedway on Monday. Teams from Roush Fenway Racing, Penske Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, NEMCO Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing and two teams from Stewart-Haas Racing participated in the session.

Previously, teams had tested at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Plans call for the full implementation of EFI in the Sprint Cup Series beginning with the 2012 season.

Tony Stewart,  winner of Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, said today's test was all about helping his race team get better.

"This test is big for the engine guys and also for our overall organization," said Stewart, who is second in points. "It gives them the opportunity to read the fuel maps and get a feel for the ins and outs of the EFI system. We're confident that this system will be bullet proof when we go all in with it next season. Being out here today, running laps; you do this to make your race team better."

Stewart's crew chief, Darian Grubb, said that his team came out of Monday's test "very satisfied."

"We've received a lot of data from the earlier tests and this was a good indicator on how the system might perform on a short track," said Grubb. "We're all still in a bit of a learning process with the EFI and still doing some troubleshooting, but this is an exciting move we're making in the sport."

Grubb went on to say that Stewart provides the team with "excellent feedback" on how the car is handling on the track.

"Tony has experience racing with the EFI systems in the past and with his background in IndyCar and sprint cars, he is able to provide us with a lot of valuable and insightful feedback."

A J Allmendinger drove a car for Roush Fenway Racing at the test and said that today was his first experience behind the wheel of an EFI stock car.

"It was kind of cool making laps in the EFI car after going 500 laps yesterday at this track," said Allmendinger, who finished 11th in Sunday's race. "It was pretty amazing seeing the marks on the walls and divots in the track from the race. We were able to make a few minor adjustments with our car today and all in all, it was a productive test for us."

John Darby, Sprint Cup Series director, said today's test "was just one more step in the planning process for EFI."

"Since the time we first began testing EFI in July in Kentucky, I think the teams have been able to work through just about all the configurations of race tracks and the different extremes of weather that they will see in 2012," said Darby. "At Kentucky it was brutally hot and the teams were faced with the extreme heat and this morning it was 30 degrees here at Martinsville, so they've been able to test this system under a variety of conditions."

Darby said that the feedback he has received from the drivers has been "consistently positive."

"When they have the throttle wide open, they say the car might run even a little smoother," said Darby. "When they run it mid-throttle, they say it might feel even a little softer in handling. They all say the cars are handling very similar to what they are used to driving now."