KIDWCKED
12-16-2010, 11:35 PM
c/p from foxsports by the a/p
Updated Dec 16, 2010 5:25 PM ET
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)
The Daytona 500 could have higher speeds, wilder races and closer finishes.
Drivers testing Daytona International Speedway for the first time since it was completely repaved agreed Thursday that NASCAR's premier event will feature tighter packs - cars running three wide at nearly 200 mph - and increase the possibility for breathtaking wrecks.
"It's going to be a lot tighter packs than I've ever seen," defending Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray said. "It's certainly going to be more Talladega-type, really close, restrictor-plate racing. ... You've got to hope that you're going to make it to the end because the odds (of big wrecks) are going to be really good I'd say."
The sport's most famous track recently completed its second repaving project, the first since 1979, and drivers turned laps on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway Wednesday and Thursday as part of Goodyear's tire test.
The notorious bumps in turns two and four are gone, so is the pesky pothole that plagued the race last February, and pit road is wider for increased safety. The result is a smoother track that causes less tire wear, creates faster laps and more tight-knit racing.
Updated Dec 16, 2010 5:25 PM ET
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)
The Daytona 500 could have higher speeds, wilder races and closer finishes.
Drivers testing Daytona International Speedway for the first time since it was completely repaved agreed Thursday that NASCAR's premier event will feature tighter packs - cars running three wide at nearly 200 mph - and increase the possibility for breathtaking wrecks.
"It's going to be a lot tighter packs than I've ever seen," defending Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray said. "It's certainly going to be more Talladega-type, really close, restrictor-plate racing. ... You've got to hope that you're going to make it to the end because the odds (of big wrecks) are going to be really good I'd say."
The sport's most famous track recently completed its second repaving project, the first since 1979, and drivers turned laps on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway Wednesday and Thursday as part of Goodyear's tire test.
The notorious bumps in turns two and four are gone, so is the pesky pothole that plagued the race last February, and pit road is wider for increased safety. The result is a smoother track that causes less tire wear, creates faster laps and more tight-knit racing.