Darlington Hosts Goodyear Tire Test Feb. 5

Darlington Raceway has announced that it will host a Goodyear Tire test featuring the Gen-6 race car on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Participating in the test will be NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard and Juan Pablo Montoya.

“Testing these new Gen-6 cars at tracks like Darlington is important for Goodyear and the teams,” Truex said. “I’m pretty excited about testing there with my NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota because I consider Darlington to be one of my best tracks, especially since they’ve repaved it a few years ago. It’s a place I have been strong at consistently. I just love the place. I’m excited to see how the new Gen-6 car and Goodyear tires perform when we test there on Feb. 5. Hopefully fans will show up and see how we look on the track before we race there in May.”

The test, which will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., is FREE and open to the public. Darlington Raceway will open two sections of the Colvin Grandstand on the backstretch of the track for fans to watch the test throughout the day and witness the first laps of the Gen-6 car on the high banks of the track Too Tough To Tame.

Fans will have the opportunity to visit the Darlington ticket office that day, with a special gift and pricing available on tickets for the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Fans can also get their picture taken with Darlington’s new Chevy Camaro pace car, which will be located next to the ticket office. The Darlington gift shop and stock car museum will be open from 10 am to 5 pm that day. Adult admission for the museum will be just $3, for that day only.

“With Darlington being so unique and different than any other track on the NASCAR circuit, this could be considered the toughest track the new Gen-6 car will have tested at thus far,” track President Chris Browning said. “It will be exciting to see the new car run at the track Too Tough To Tame on Feb. 5.”

Fans need to use the Gate 6 entrance to the track off of Highway 151. The parking lot is located next to the track’s administration building and certain sections of the Colvin Grandstand on the backstretch will be open for public viewing.

Times of the test are subject to change by Goodyear. A rain date of Wednesday, Feb. 6 has been scheduled if there is a postponement due to inclement weather.

The Gen-6 car is the sixth generation of stock car to race in NASCAR. Gen-6 represents putting ‘stock back into the stock car,’ by returning to the roots of the sport where competitors turned street cars into race cars. The new car will have the same characteristics as the manufacturer’s street models, which has brought a great deal of excitement for race fans heading into the 2013 season.

Tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 on May 11 and Nationwide Series 200 on Friday, May 10 are on sale now! Remember, kids 12 and under are half off for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 and FREE for the Nationwide Series 200 in general admission sections. Visitwww.DarlingtonRaceway.com or call 866-459-7223 for tickets.