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Fourteen NASCAR Sprint Cup teams tested Tuesday, April 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, preparing for the 17th annual Brickyard 400.
Teams from each Sprint Cup manufacturer were on hand to rubber in the track and test different configurations with Goodyear tires and the new NASCAR-mandated spoiler that will be used during the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, July 25. The private testing continues on Wednesday, April 21.
"It's a little bit different feel," Kyle Busch said of the new spoiler and tire combination. "I'm never really good here. This is a place I struggle at. We're trying to get better and find something that really works for us. Right now, the tires are good."
Despite his self-proclaimed struggles, Busch expects the 2010 Brickyard 400 to feature the same strong competition as past years despite the new spoiler.
"To me, it's not much different than what we had here last year with the wing, so we're working on just trying to get a better balance for me," Busch said.
Two-time Brickyard 400 winner Tony Stewart also was optimistic about the new spoiler and tire combination.
"The spoiler is a little bit of a balance change," Stewart said. "It's not going to be a huge deal on the Goodyear side. It's more for the team side of finding the balance and what they have to do."
During a break in testing, Stewart announced a format change for his Gillette Fusion ProGlide Prelude to the Dream all-star race June 9 at Eldora Speedway. Drivers will be grouped into four teams with each team representing a different children's hospital, including Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Each hospital will receive a percentage of the purse based upon the highest finishing driver from each team.
Stewart also announced that he will invite the winner of the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 to compete against in the dirt Late Model race against the Sprint Cup all-stars. Stewart has five career starts in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in addition to his 11 Brickyard 400 starts.
And even with so many career starts at IMS and two Brickyard 400 victories, Stewart still loves to race at Indianapolis.
"Oh, God, yeah," Stewart said. "It's a part of my life."
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