Trucks hit high speeds at Talladega
Greg Engle Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has found its fastest track.
The drivers took to the biggest track on the NASCAR circuit for the first time in series history Thursday and the speeds were eye-opening.
Mike Skinner led the two practice sessions, posting the fastest speed in the final practice, 193.980 mph.
That speed was more than 5 mph faster than the Nextel Cup pole speed in the spring race of 188.511 mph posted by Elliott Sadler. The final practice had packs of trucks four-wide drafting; normally that will make for higher speeds.
The Craftsman Series John Deere 250 race is Saturday afternoon.
Talladega is a 2.66-mile tri-oval. The next largest track, Daytona International Speedway at 2.5 miles, had a truck pole speed this past February of 178.628 mph posted by Mark Martin. The highest practice speed at Daytona in February by a Craftsman truck was 184.876 mph.
"We spent all of our time on race setup and never did a qualifying setup because it doesn't matter," said Mike Bliss, who was 22nd fastest in the final practice. "This isn't even the same Talladega I have raced on before."
The track recently was repaved for the first time in 26 years.
"You know what," said Ron Hornaday Jr., who was 16th fastest in the final practice. "I have raced in a lot of places, but I have never raced on anything this smooth."
This story was produced by the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service, a free content provider for newspapers.
Greg Engle Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has found its fastest track.
The drivers took to the biggest track on the NASCAR circuit for the first time in series history Thursday and the speeds were eye-opening.
Mike Skinner led the two practice sessions, posting the fastest speed in the final practice, 193.980 mph.
That speed was more than 5 mph faster than the Nextel Cup pole speed in the spring race of 188.511 mph posted by Elliott Sadler. The final practice had packs of trucks four-wide drafting; normally that will make for higher speeds.
The Craftsman Series John Deere 250 race is Saturday afternoon.
Talladega is a 2.66-mile tri-oval. The next largest track, Daytona International Speedway at 2.5 miles, had a truck pole speed this past February of 178.628 mph posted by Mark Martin. The highest practice speed at Daytona in February by a Craftsman truck was 184.876 mph.
"We spent all of our time on race setup and never did a qualifying setup because it doesn't matter," said Mike Bliss, who was 22nd fastest in the final practice. "This isn't even the same Talladega I have raced on before."
The track recently was repaved for the first time in 26 years.
"You know what," said Ron Hornaday Jr., who was 16th fastest in the final practice. "I have raced in a lot of places, but I have never raced on anything this smooth."
This story was produced by the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service, a free content provider for newspapers.