Leffler Tops Among Busch Teams Testing On New Bristol Surface
Bristol, TN (AHN) - The No. 38 Braun Racing Toyota of Jason Leffler topped the morning speed charts as 33 NASCAR Kyle Busch Series teams tested the new racing surface Tuesday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Rain showers delayed the test session intermittently throughout the day, but at 4 p.m. Leffler had still posted the quickest lap of the day with a speed of 119.306 mph.
"It's definitely different. There is not as much transition down in the corners, which makes the car more comfortable getting in and should lead itself to side-by-side racing," said veteran driver Jason Keller. "I didn't believe it was going to be so smooth," Keller said. "And I honestly didn't remember it being so rough, until you feel how smooth it is now.''
Kyle Busch, wheeling the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet, was second-quickest at 119.180 mph, while Bobby Labonte, wheeling the No. 77 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick Inc., was third-fastest with a speed of 118.885 mph.
Dennis Setzer, testing the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, was fourth-quickest at 118.789 mph and the No. 66 Dodge of Steve Wallace rounded out the top-five at 118.760 mph.
Keller, driver of the No. 11 CJM Racing Chevrolet, is zeroing in on Tommy Houston'sall-time starts record (417) and noticed the changes made during the track's recent resurfacing.BMS started the resurfacing project after the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on March 25 and some variable banking was added to the turns to help smooth the transition to the straightaways."I don't think you can change your approach here because you better go all out, all the time. Even if the groove widens out, you'll still have to go as fast as you can, as hard as you can,'' said Keller. "Typically, the Kyle Busch Series race here goes by pretty fast. I don't think the approach to the race will change but the actual race may change, as far as getting some two-wide and perhaps three-wide racing coming off the corner. But it looks like we'll see some side-by-side racing."The second Bristol Busch event of the year will be contested on August 24.
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