NASCAR announces 2015 Daytona testing dates:
As NASCAR teams prepare for next week’s round two at Daytona International Speedway following Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s memorable 2014 Daytona 500 victory, plans for 2015’s season launch are already underway. NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway announced that Preseason Thunder will take place one week later in 2015. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will hit the track on January 15-16 as they prepare for the 57th running of the Daytona 500 on February 22, 2015. In the event of rain, additional track time will be added on Saturday, January 17.
“Each year, Preseason Thunder gives fans a sneak peek into the upcoming season, and specifically, NASCAR’s crown jewel, the Daytona 500,” said Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition and racing development. “In 2015, the date will change. The anticipation, and the thrill of cars returning to the race track, will not. A later starting date for January testing will be more convenient for both teams and fans,” Chitwood said. “Both testing sessions are important opportunities for teams as they prepare for their season-opening events ... It’s also an exciting time for fans as they get gear up for the start of the new season.”
The Preseason Thunder Fan Fest, the companion event to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series testing, is scheduled on Thursday night, Jan. 15. Tickets for Preseason Thunder Fan Fest as well as a schedule of driver question-and-answer and autograph sessions will be available at a later date.(NASCAR)(6-25-2014)
#77 team “retooling”: Randy Humphrey’s race team won’t be at Kentucky Speedway this weekend — but that’s not because the operation is shutting down. “We’re retooling things,” Humphrey said Tuesday by telephone. “We’re just trying to find the right people. ... We have not shut down.” The #77 car of Randy Humphrey Racing has competed in four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events this season, all with veteran driver Dave Blaney behind the wheel. The team had entered every race until this past weekend’s event on the Sonoma Raceway road course, although it ultimately withdrew from the Daytona 500, the most recent oval race at Michigan International Speedway two weeks ago, and two other events earlier this year. Humphrey said the hiatus isn’t due to funding — the competition level of his #77 car simply wasn’t what he had hoped. Humphrey said he hopes to return to the track for the July 27 Crown Royal Presents the John Walding 400 at The Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “You will not see us at Daytona (next weekend), but I do suspect you will be seeing us at Indy forward, hopefully,” he said. “That’s our plan. We have some meetings that are going on, and we’re just interviewing some people. We had to retool some people and that kind of thing to get ourselves in order here.”(NASCAR.com)(6-25-2014)