Now that the holidays are over, the family has left and the kids are back in school; January can be a very long month for race fans.
Lucky for them in just two short weeks all the drivers will be back on the track at Daytona for an open test on the new asphalt.
In December there were a few drivers who came down for the two day tire test, but the test January 20th-22nd will have everyone down there preparing for the Daytona 500.
The test will also coincide with Fan Fest where fans can see their favorite drivers which include on Thursday, January 20th, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr. and Regan Smith.
On Friday, January 21st, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kevin Conway, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman. Also, in the later session Tony Stewart, AJ Allmendinger, Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose and Matt Kenseth.
Admission to the three day test is free but NASCAR Preseason Thunder Fan Fest tickets are $20 and available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
Prior to Preseason Thunder is The Roar before the 24. The test days for the Rolex 24 teams are Jan. 7-9.Those tickets are $15 daily and also can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
For fans unable to attend Preseason Thunder the Speed channel will be streaming the test online along with airing it on the Speed.
Speed will be airing more than 20 hours of testing either online or on TV that weekend.
The test is a very big test for all these drivers. Not only is it on new asphalt but many drivers will be working with different crew chiefs and teams in 2011.
This will give them a perfect opportunity to work on communication. Also, with NASCAR testing policies as they are not often do the drivers test on tracks where they run races.
Also, teams will be working with a new front end. Wind tunnels can only tell you so much information. Being on track and around other cars in the draft will be very important.
Gathering as much information as possible will be important as the teams prepare for Speedweeks 2011 in February.
The drivers who attended the December tire test have a little bit more information to go on but the feedback on the track and the new asphalt was overwhelmingly positive.
“I think it's going to be a helluva race,” Burton said. “We've had some great Daytona 500 finishes the last several years. The end of the race has been great. We've seen separation of cars because of the handling issues during the race. You're not going to see that this time. There's going to be a constant pack. I don't know how you could get separated.”
The Daytona 500 is February 20th on Fox.
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