RIDGEWAY, VA :: With a very limited amount of time to practice on race weekend, Wednesday’s all-day practice session is critical for race teams to get their car dialed-in if they hope to be successful in next Sunday’s big dance.
When compared to other big races, Martinsville is unique in the sense that there is only one test day and the practice session on race weekend is limited to two hours. Compare that to the Myrtle Beach 400, which is evidently called the Myrtle Beach 400 because that’s seemingly the number of practice sessions there are leading up to the race. While the limited practice time saves teams money, it puts teams that are unable to make it to the race at a disadvantage – as is the case for Travis Sharpe.
Sharpe’s Racing Dynamiks will be fielding two cars in the Martinsville DuPont Credit Union (MDCU) 300. Those cars are being piloted by west coast drivers Gary Lewis and Braeden Havens.
“I hate that they do this test a week early,” Sharpe said. “It’d be a lot easier to run it on Thursday. I understand that not everyone flies from the west to do this but this is the third straight year we’ve done this with guys out west. We’re not driving from Charlotte to Martinsville. It’s a 12 hour affair to fly. It’s special these guys want to race and a Thursday test would solve our problems. They need to look at that more.”
Sharpe plans to offset the disadvantage by testing at Ace Speedway on the Thursday leading up to the MDCU 300.
“The cost of that race is phenomenal to do it and the fact you have to miss days of week for the test and days of work at the end of the week… I don’t understand the separated dates, they’re the only track that does this,” Sharpe explained. “This puts a disadvantage to guys out of town and guys who work.”
Motor Mile Speedway Limited Sportsman competitor Karl Budzevski has plans to compete in the race but has since been forced to change those plans. He offered insight about the test session, explaining that the concrete surface in the corners at Martinsville Speedway makes the historic facility different from every other track in the region.
“The test session is crucial because we don’t run on concrete at any of our local tracks,” Budzevski stated. “Kingsport’s the closest thing. The guys at Kingsport and Langley have a stepping stone as a baseline setup and that’s why they run well at Martinsville. The flatter tracks are so different from what we run at Motor Mile or Southern National and the transition from asphalt to concrete, tere’s a lateral push force there and that’s why cars push up the center a little bit. Your car ends up being quite a bit different than what you’re used to for sure.”
Anthony Anders, who races for Hawk McCall Motorsports, tested at Martinsville a few years ago but problems with the car and engine during the test session sidelined Anders. This year, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion is confident heading in to the test but, despite the similarities between Greenville-Pickens Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, he’s not underestimating the importance of Wednesday’s test session.
“I’ve got real good confident in our team because they’ve been there over the past few years and they do really well when they have been there,” Anders said. “I’ve learned a lot talking to Lee McCall about how the track rubbers up and tightens up. I just feel that, with the experience at Greenville, I think I’ll adapt to Martinsville fairly quick. We didn’t get to do much testing when I was there but I’m excited. I know, over the years watching the race, it comes down to the last few laps… the track itself is concrete versus asphalt but concrete has a lot of grip to it. Kingsport has a lot of grip. I’ll know Wednesday if we’ll be competitive.”
Dillon Bassett finished second in last year’s MDCU 300. You might think that, with his strong performance and with his talent, he might be the one driver who doesn’t feel the test is extremely crucial. Well, if you talk to Bassett, he’ll tell you that it’s as important as ever.
“It’s really important,” Bassett remarked. “You need to get a baseline for when you get there on Wednesday because you only get one or two short practices. You have to take advantage of Wednesday. Once you get there on race weekend, you’re there but you won’t be able to change a lot.”
Despite last year’s success, Bassett feels he’ll once again be facing a learning curve at Martinsville this season as he will be racing with a built motor this year.
“We’re going with a built motor because they’re penalizing the Ford crate engins so we’re going to try to figure out the place with a built motor,” Bassett stated. “I’ll be in a learning curve this year just figuring out what to do. All I’ve ever run is a crate motor but I feel like I know what the car’s going to need. If we get close, I think we’ll be alright.”
2003 Martinsville winner Jamey Caudill comes in to the MDCU 300 fresh off two victories at Southern National Motorsports Park a little over a week ago. Caudill echoed the sentiments of his fellow competitors about the importance of the test because of the limited track time on race weekend.
“When you leave Martinsville tomorrow, you need to know where you are and where you stand speed wise,” Caudill explained. “Practice time is so short when you go back now since they cut the Friday test that, when you hit the track, you don’t need to be searching for anything. You need to know where you are and how the car will drive. It’s really important. You only get a couple shots to make the car better on Saturday so you need to know where you are when you leave on Wednesday.”
Although Caudill is a former winner of the race, he feels the test is every bit as important to him as it is to someone who’s never won the race before.
“As far as being a winner and the test, it doesn’t make that much difference,” Caudill said. “The test is as important, whether you’ve won or not. Everything’s different now. It’s different year-to-year.”
Wednesday’s test session will run from 9am-5pm with a one hour lunch break at noon. That is the most track time the drivers will see leading up to the green flag because, on race weekend, there will only be one two hour practice session followed by group qualifying. Race teams only have eight hours to get their car dialed in. Those eight hours could be the difference between taking home a grandfather clock and a general admission ticket.
RACE22.com’s Five Star Bodies RACEDAY LIVE presented by McCallister Precision Marketing will have all day coverage of the MDCU 300 test session, beginning on Wednesday morning and running in to the early evening hours.
