NASCAR Drivers Turn Test Laps in Advance of July's Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard

Tony Stewart is no fan of tire tests. But testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway? That’s an invitation the Hoosier will take every time.

“It’s nice to be home. Any time we’ve had an opportunity to come test here, I’ve always jumped on it,” said the Columbus, Indiana, native on Wednesday. “I don’t like to go test, it’s boring to me, but I’ve always liked any chance I got to come up to Indy and test. It’s something I always want to do.”

NASCAR drivers Aric Almirola, Carl Edwards, Chase Elliott and Stewart turned laps at IMS on Tuesday and Wednesday for a Goodyear tire test in advance of the Crown Royal presents the “Your Hero’s Name Here” 400 at the Brickyard on July 22-24. 

“I was telling my guys, it’s a nice way to start your morning at 9 a.m. to get to run laps at IMS,” said Edwards, the Sprint Cup Series points leader who arrived in town off two consecutive wins in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “The weather cooperated pretty well yesterday and today, so we’re learning a little bit. We’ve had a lot of back-and-forth talk with Goodyear, I think we’ll end up with a good tire to race on here.”

Goodyear holds annual tire tests at IMS to study various compounds and determine which tire will make for the best racing on the 2.5-mile oval, which is unlike any other track on the NASCAR schedule. Adding to the challenge this year is matching a new tire to the series’ new lower-downforce package, which changes the car’s handling.

“The move that NASCAR made to a lower downforce package, with a smaller rear blade, I believe has paid off the entire season,” Edwards said. “At a place like Indy, where the speeds are so high, this is the type of track where it will be better. If anything, it’s going to be better.”

That would be music to everyone’s ears, including a certain two-time Brickyard champion who’s just now getting used to driving everywhere again after missing the start of the NASCAR season due to injury.

“I haven’t driven with this low downforce package, other than Richmond last weekend, which you’re not really going to see a big effect of it,” Stewart said. “But being here and seeing how much different it feels, it’s fun to kind of get acclimated again. That’s the big thing that I wanted to leave here with – feeling like I was up to speed with what the aero package was and knowing what it feels like.”