The first open week of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season actually begins with some on-track activity as teams converge on Richmond International Raceway for the third scheduled test of the year – and the only one slated for a short track.
The .75-mile facility will host the NASCAR Nationwide Series 250 on May 2.
More than 30 drivers representing more than 20 teams are expected to participate and gather notes for the remaining three short tracks on the 2008 series schedule. Five races are left on those tracks this season.
The first short-track race of the year occurred two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway where Clint Bowyer (No. 2 BB&T/Camping World Chevrolet) won the rain-shortened event. Following his runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway last Saturday, he’s the series points leader for the first time in his NASCAR national series career.
“Richmond is the second-to-last test scheduled for the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year and it’s our only short track test,” said series director Joe Balash. “Teams will gain valuable data that they will be using the rest of the season.”
“Richmond’s a racy little place. It’s a ‘big’ short track,” Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford) said. “We haven’t had a lot of laps this year so far (on short tracks) so this will be good for us.”
Kyle Busch (No. 32 ABF/Haas Avocados from Mexico/Beringer/Dollar General Toyota), who has led laps in all but one race this year – which happened to be on a short track at Bristol – has specific areas to address at Richmond.
“We had a great car at Bristol, but weren’t able to showcase it, unfortunately,” said the two-time winner at Richmond. “I feel like we can go to Richmond and have a good test. I told (the team) we needed a different brake package on it from what we had at Bristol because Richmond is way harder on brakes. We’ll see how that pans out and hopefully have a good test.”
Busch will be joined at the test by five other NASCAR Nationwide Series winners at Richmond – defending race winner Bowyer, four-time race winner Kevin Harvick (No 33 Camping World/RoadLoans.com Chevrolet), last year’s series champion Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Ford), Jason Keller (No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Company Chevrolet) and Morgan Shepherd (No. 89 Victory in Jesus Dodge).
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