Trevor Bayne tested Wednesday |
With the Aaron’s Dream Weekend set for May 2-4 at Talladega Superspeedway,
three drivers – led by Trevor Bayne of the famed the Wood Brothers Racing Team
– took to the high banks of NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track Wednesday for a
test session in hopes of gathering information to help their efforts upon their
return.
Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 Champion, was joined by Tommy Baldwin Racing
drivers Reed Sorenson and Michael Annett. Veteran crew chief Todd Parrott, who
will head Sorenson’s effort, was also on hand after taking over the reins
earlier this year. Bayne, behind the wheel of the iconic No. 21 Ford, paced the
trio with an unofficial speed of 191.138 mph.
“It’s good to get in the car here at Talladega,” said Bayne, who hopes to
give the Wood Brothers their sixth triumph at Talladega in May. “We feel like
we have a good shot at winning here and we plan to learn as much as we can with
this test. We will be back tomorrow.”
If he could pull off a victory, he would join an impressive list of drivers
– David Pearson, along with Alabama’s Neil Bonnett and Donnie Allison – who
have gone to victory lane at Talladega in the Wood’s car.
Len Wood, the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Owner of the team, said he
can’t wait for NASCAR’s new qualifying format to take place at Talladega
(Saturday, May 3), in which all cars will be allowed on the track in three
elimination rounds to ultimately decide the pole winner.
“It's going to be a heckuva show – that is all you can say about it...a
big-time scramble. It's going to be a strategy game here more than anywhere
else. The leader of the pack won't be the fastest. The ones behind the leader
of a pack will try to lag back, and at the perfect time, suck back up to the
car in front of him in the draft. If the driver is able to time it right, he or
she will be in great shape as the draft will pull him to the car in front of
him, thus allowing him to be faster. Trevor is really good at this type of
drafting.
“If you lag back too far, you will lose the draft and go backwards. Drivers
will question themselves: ‘Do I want to lead? Who should I draft with?’ How
long do I stay out in the first elimination round.’ It's going to be a chess match
like no other in less than an hour."
After the first elimination round (25 minutes), the field will be reduced
to the fastest 24 cars. The second round will be 10 minutes and reduce the
field to the fastest 12 cars. The third and final round will be five minutes,
and the fastest single lap time will determine positions first through 12th
in descending order.
Bayne, who will also compete in the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series
race for Roush Fenway Racing, has eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at TSS,
with his best start being fourth in the 2011 Aaron’s 499. Annett, who won an
ARCA race at TSS in 2007, will be making his Sprint Cup Series debut at
Talladega when he returns to the track for the Aaron’s 499 driving the No. 7
Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing. Sorenson will be making his first Sprint
Cup start at Talladega since 2009. Today’s testing fell on his 28th
birthday, and the track helped him celebrate by presenting him with a cake.
NASCAR returns to Talladega Superspeedway in 2014 with the Aaron’s Dream
Weekend, which is set for May 2-4. The NASCAR Nationwide Series and ARCA Racing
Series will take to the track on Saturday, May 3 while NASCAR’s Sprint Cup
Series machines take the green flag on Sunday, May 4. For ticket information,
log onto www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
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