Drivers that participated in
both single-car runs and drafting sessions in the tire test were:
· Jamie McMurray (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing)
· Kasey Kahne/Regan Smith (Hendrick Motorsports)
· Danica Patrick (Stewart Haas Racing)
· Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing)
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing)
· Michael McDowell (Joe Gibbs Racing)
· Trevor Bayne (Wood Brothers Racing
· Austin Dillon (Circle Sport)
· Carl Edwards (Roush Fenway Racing)
Drivers turned laps under
the lights on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. while Wednesday’s session was
during the daytime.
“Goodyear is looking for
different compounds and different sidewall constructions and continue to learn
about this race track and these cars and tires,” said Biffle, who won the Coke
Zero 400 back in 2003. “That’s why we’re here is to help Goodyear and it gives
us a chance to learn some stuff, get some data, try a few things to get ready
for the summer race.”
Patrick, driving the No. 10
Chevrolet for Stewart Haas Racing, is coming off a successful Budweiser
Speedweeks. She became the first woman to win a pole for a NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series race during Daytona 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger. She followed
that pole-winning run with an eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500.
She hopes to carry the
momentum from Budweiser Speedweeks into the 55th annual Coke Zero
400 Powered By Coca-Cola on Saturday, July 6.
“It would be great to
qualify on the pole again,” Patrick said. “It would be great to run up front
and hopefully through testing today and getting ready for the Coke Zero 400 in
July, I will be more prepared for the end of the race.”
Patrick expects the racing
excitement at the “World Center of Racing” to continue to improve for the 160-lap,
400-mile race under the lights.
“I feel like you’ll see an
even more exciting race in the summer just because it will be hotter, maybe a
little bit more slippery,” Patrick said. “Maybe we will actually get
uncomfortable out there and everybody got a feel for the way this car performs
in a pack (in February).
“I found myself trying some
things out there in practice just to get a better feel for when you take
chances. I wasn’t really in position to take chances in the race. Doing it out
there in practice is good. Everybody is going to learn and it will make the
racing better.”
The Coke Zero 400 Weekend
Powered By Coca-Cola kicks off with the Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By
Coca-Cola NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Friday, July 5. The stars of the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series take center stage with the 55th annual Coke
Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola on Saturday, July 6.
Tickets for all the events
that are part of the Coke Zero 400 Weekend Powered By Coca-Cola Weekend At
Daytona are available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com
or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
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