Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray led the final of six test sessions held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. Has he adjusted his car so that it is yawed out like Carl Edwards' has been running his on those mile and a half tracks where he has been successful?
Crew chiefs and engineers took the yawn out of Sprint Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) and put in the yaw. The hope is to close the gap between Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards and the rest of the field at 1.5-mile tracks such as LMS. Edwards' car, according to several crew chiefs and drivers, has been dominant in part because he has been able to handle a setup in which the rear housing is turned to the right, making it appear the car is going sideways down the straightaways. This gives Edwards more yaw -- movement in the back end -- that creates more downforce and allows him to make a better transition going into the corners.
"I think everyone sees it, even on TV," said Denny Hamlin, who is sixth in points. "It's very, very noticeable for us drivers. To those that don't really know the nuts and bolts of the cars, they don't really see it. We see it, the attitude of his car is a little bit more I guess 'yawed out' more than everyone else's. There are reasons for that. We as a team are starting to pinpoint that and really starting to show up."
Many teams used the two-day test at LMS to experiment with setups similar to what they believe Edwards has. NASCAR allows only a quarter-inch adjustment in the rear housing and monitors it with gauges. Tony Eury Jr., the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't go quite that far without making the car tough for his driver to handle.
Earnhardt crashed during Monday's practice sessions at Lowe's.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said that much yaw makes his car very tough to handle. Two-time champion Tony Stewart said everybody is trying to get a feel for it.
Now we know whats been bugging Jeff.
"It's a driver feel, there's no doubt," Eury said. "Some drivers like it. Some drivers don't."
Edwards apparently does. He's used it to win at 1.5-mile tracks at Las Vegas and Texas and the 2-mile California Speedway. He was headed for a win at 1.5-mile Atlanta before his engine expired late.
Ron Hornaday was marvelous, simply marvelous. He had the best truck tonight. And tonight the best truck won the race. Hornaday took his new sponsor Camping World to victory lane on their first outing with him. Somewhere on a lake near Charlotte they are having a big bonfire, camp out and celebration party tonight.
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press May 19, 2007 12:23 AM EDT
CONCORD, N.C. -- Ron Hornaday Jr. passed A.J. Allmendinger with 36 laps to go, then held on for two restarts to win the Craftsman Truck Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday night. It was Hornaday's 30th career Truck Series victory, but the first at LMS. Hornaday, driving for Kevin Harvick Inc., also scored the first win of the season for Chevrolet after Toyotas won four of the first five events.
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