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2nd
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Richmond International Raceway got a taste of the new Gen-6 car in day one of a two day test at the three-quarter mile oval. Four divers, on two teams, consisting of Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet) and Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose (Richard Petty Motorsports Ford) took the track.
No Toyota teams took to the track on Monday.
In chilly April weather, contributing to cool track temperatures, driver got a good grip on the track which could mean new track records eclipsing the 20.772 seconds/129.983mph set by Brian Vickers in 2004.
“The track is extremely fast,” said Almirola. “When we rolled out on the track at 9:00 this morning, it was still kinda cool and the track had a lot of grip. We were running lap times close to the pole speed in race trim. Really surprised at how fast the track was and how fast our cars were.”
“This morning was a lot of fun,” said Montoya. “The track was really cool this morning so it was crazy fast. It's a good place when you need to find some traction. There's a lot of things you can work on here.”
The same group will return to the track on Tuesday in preparation of the Sprint Cup race scheduled for April 27th.
The Richmond race weekend gets under way on Thursday, April 25 with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Blue Ox 100 and the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown presented by FedEx. The Nationwide Series hits the track on Friday, April 26 for the ToyotaCare 250, followed by the Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday, April 27.
“(The Gen-6 car has) so much more grip than what we had last year,” said McMurray. “I think it would be hard to find anybody say they don't like that. It turns better, it has more drive off, everything's better about it.”
No Toyota teams took to the track on Monday.
In chilly April weather, contributing to cool track temperatures, driver got a good grip on the track which could mean new track records eclipsing the 20.772 seconds/129.983mph set by Brian Vickers in 2004.
“The track is extremely fast,” said Almirola. “When we rolled out on the track at 9:00 this morning, it was still kinda cool and the track had a lot of grip. We were running lap times close to the pole speed in race trim. Really surprised at how fast the track was and how fast our cars were.”
“This morning was a lot of fun,” said Montoya. “The track was really cool this morning so it was crazy fast. It's a good place when you need to find some traction. There's a lot of things you can work on here.”
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| Juan-Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet. (Photo: NASCAR) |
The same group will return to the track on Tuesday in preparation of the Sprint Cup race scheduled for April 27th.
The Richmond race weekend gets under way on Thursday, April 25 with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Blue Ox 100 and the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown presented by FedEx. The Nationwide Series hits the track on Friday, April 26 for the ToyotaCare 250, followed by the Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday, April 27.
“(The Gen-6 car has) so much more grip than what we had last year,” said McMurray. “I think it would be hard to find anybody say they don't like that. It turns better, it has more drive off, everything's better about it.”