By Staff
BROOKLYN – Following a successful Daytona 500 weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway's sister-track, California Speedway, for the Auto Club 500 weekend.
Many storylines are coming out of California's race, including the debut of NASCAR's new car on the two-mile oval. Two-time defending race winner Matt Kenseth, who also has two Cup wins at MIS, is looking forward to seeing how the new car performs this weekend.
"Yeah, I mean, it's just a real big, wide track. You get a little bit of everything there. Especially this new car has less drag, so you go really fast on the straightaways," Kenseth said. "It's got some pretty big corners where you can run around the bottom or you can run up high. You're always kind of searching for a groove, so it's always a lot of fun. You do get some pull down the straightaways in general at Michigan and California probably more so than any of the other tracks we go to besides Daytona and Talladega."
Because of the similarities California and MIS share, it will give drivers like Kenseth an added advantage when the series heads to MIS in June.
"California and Michigan certainly have a lot of similarities," he said. "You can use a lot of what you learn at California at Michigan and vice versa. I remember there's years when Kurt (Busch) won both races and ran almost exactly the same stuff at both tracks. You know, what California likes Michigan kind of likes. You might not be able to run a carbon copy but you'll certainly be able to use some of the stuff you learned."
Race teams tested more than 60 cars during a two-day test at California and speeds ranged from Denny Hamlin's top time of 182.523 mph to 173 mph. Times for the new car are expected to be faster at MIS due to the speedway's higher banking. MIS carries 18 degree banking in the turns, 12 degree banking on the frontstretch and five on the backstretch, while California is 14 degrees in the turns, 11 on the front and three on the back.
With the variance in banking, the new cars times at MIS could be very similar to the old car, ranging from 185-190 mph. The qualifying record at Michigan International Speedway stands at 194.232 mph, set by Ryan Newman in 2005.
"I'm looking forward to (the new) cars because everyone is so close," said Carl Edwards during the test. "I believe that opens the opportunity for the drivers to be able to make a little bit bigger difference."
I think that's going to be a pretty good thing."
"I think you're going to see a lot of people moving around," said Kevin Harvick at the preseason test, of Sunday's Auto Club 500. "I think this car, even at Las Vegas, you could move around and make time. You're just going to see a lot of different grooves develop as the race goes on."
And if last week's season-opening Daytona 500 is any barometer, expect more "raciness" this season.