Long Pond, PA (April, 4, 2012) ―Goodyear Tire, the Official Tire of NASCAR, recently announced that April 24 & 25, 2012 will be the dates for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tire tests at Pocono Raceway. The Raceway is in the final stages of repaving the entire track and it’s essentially a brand new track. Goodyear engineers will provide a number of different tire compounds and will determine, through this test, what are the best compounds based on results of the test. Goodyear will then produce the tires that will be used in the June 10, Pocono 400, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
The drivers and teams tentatively schedule for the Pocono test are: Jamie McMurray from Earnhardt Ganassi Sabates Racing (Chevy, car # 1); Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports (Chevy, car # 5 ); Joey Logano, Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota, car # 20); A.J. Allmendinger, Penske Racing (Dodge, car # 22) and Aric Almirola, Richard Petty Motorsports (Ford, car # 43).
Fans will be permitted to view both days of the test from the grandstand area at no charge. Fans should enter the parking lots via Gate # 5 (Andretti Rd.) with Gate # 11 opening at 9:00 AM. Fans will be directed to grandstand seating areas near the Start/Finish line. Concession stands will be open both dates of the test.NASCAR will allow all Sprint Cup Series teams to test the new Pocono surface with a specially scheduled test on June 6-7.
Grandstands will not be open for this test, however, race fans that have Trackside RV, Reserved Fence Line RV, Reserved Infield RV or Early Bird Infield RV tickets for the Pocono 400 will have the opportunity to view the test session on Thursday for no additional charge. In fact, Gate # 1 tunnel entrance and Gate # 4 (for Trackside RV) will open at 9:00 AM on June 7 to allow early access for these fans.
Action for the Pocono 400 begins on Friday June 8 with NASCAR practice and ARCA qualifying for Saturday’s Pocono 200, ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. Sprint Cup qualifying and the Pocono 200 highlight Saturday’s activities. Gates open Sunday June 10 at 9:00AM, pre-race activities begin at 11:30AM with the start of the Pocono 400 at 1:00PM.
For ticket information call 1-800-RACEWAY (1-800-722-3929) or visit: www.poconoraceway.com.
you are doing a great job letting everyone know what is going on,,,keep it up,looking forward to the race,,,and everything else going on ,,thanks again,,,
Keep up the grear work letting the fans know what is going on,,,,
WELCOME Race Fans!
Is there a reason you can not let fans in for the June tire test. There are alot of fans that come early that week for the race and would be nice if the normal race fan would also get some perks. Could this be the reason for the recent decline in fan base?
Todd – Unfortunately, the date NASCAR scheduled falls directly in line with final preparation work being done at Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400 race weekend.
I THINK AT LEAST THE FANS WHO HAVE CLUB TICKETS SHOULD ALSO GET TO VIEW THE THURSDAY PRACTICE. I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE WORK TO BE DONE BUT IT WOULD NOT BE THAT MANY MORE PEOPLE. JUST A THOUGHT WE DO LOVE OUR RACING ! THANKS
Thanks for letting fans in on the April tire testing dates! Very cool!
P.S. I first heard about it on Sirius satellite radio.
Do you know how long the testing will last? 9am to ??
Currently scheduled to end each day at 5 p.m. ET.
So you can’t go into the pits and sit in the small section of stands behind the garage area? I went to a tire test at Pocono a few years ago, and everyone was allowed to go and sit behind the garage area. It’s a great place to get close to the cars/drivers, and get autographs. If people can only sit in the grandstands, I don’t really see the point in going. The track’s only 25mins from me, and I’ve been to 10+ races there.
Michael – We completely understand, but it is technically not our call. The test you attended was what NASCAR calls an “open” test to where all teams are invited. This upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday test is a “closed” Goodyear Engineering Tire Test. These tests are commonly NOT open to the public, but Goodyear was very generous in allowing fans to view the test from the Grandstand side. The rules of this test also do not allow any of our staff inside the paddock, garage or pit areas, except for a 15 minute window on Tuesday morning and a 30-minute window on Tuesday. We sincerely wish we could open the pit and paddock areas to fans, but we are following the strict rules in place. These are the guidelines Goodyear establishes at every race track and why fans are commonly not allowed to attend. We hope you still come out as it will mark the first time a race car will hit our newly repaved surface. It is the first opportunity for fans to see it for themselves. We thank you for your comments and look forward to seeing you back at Pocono Raceway this season!