Drivers Prep For 10 Days Of Thunder With NASCAR Test Fest At Charlotte Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. – The roar of NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series engines filled the air on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as NASCAR Test Fest gave teams a rare tune-up session before the 10 Days of NASCAR Thunder May 19-28.

Ryan Blaney – who is still searching for his first XFINITY Series victory at Charlotte – topped the charts with a 29.254-second lap at 184.590 miles per hour. Brandon Jones, Tyler Reddick, Elliott Sadler and Brennan Poole rounded out the top five while Christopher Bell (150 laps), Cole Custer (147), William Byron (138) and Bubba Wallace (131) ran the most laps.

“It’s good to be out here,” said Blaney, whose No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang made 88 laps. “This track is tough and it changes a lot throughout the day. You can try things that you can’t try during a race weekend. We’re working on our cars and trying to get them back to where we were a couple of years ago. … The day went fairly well, which is encouraging.”

Camping World Truck Series regulars also tackled Charlotte’s iconic 1.5-mile superspeedway, with defending N.C. Education Lottery 200 winner Matt Crafton and his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota Tundra team thankful to test.

“It’s good that this test goes from the day into the night because this race track changes more than any track we go to,” Crafton said. “I’m really glad about this test. … We use it to work on our 1.5-mile program.”

Defending series champion Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado, agreed with Crafton.

“Coming here to test is something that I look forward to,” Sauter said. “I think (the strategy is) similar for everybody to come here. … There are things that are unique about Charlotte versus other 1.5-mile race tracks and maybe you can hit on some of those sweet spots for here.”

Additionally, NASCAR Test Fest included the unveiling of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Monster Energy All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 race program covers. Sam Bass, NASCAR’s first officially licensed artist, designed the covers – his 83^rd and 84^th NASCAR Cup Series program cover designs for the speedway since May 1985.

TICKETS:
Kids’ tickets for the Monster Energy All-Star Race weekend cost just $10 while adult weekend passes start at just $79 and include admission to the May 19 N.C. Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, May 20 Justin Moore All-Star pre-race concert presented by Rayovac and Kwikset and the Monster Energy Open. Tickets, camping and upgrades are available by visiting charlottemotorspeedway.com/tickets or calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

KEEP TRACK:
Fans can connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on Twitter and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

Source: Charlotte Motor Speedway

Photo Credit: HHP Photo