That sticker on the front of the 2013 Sprint Cup Fusion that the majority of us thought was ugly looking has been removed in favor of actual shape .

Article on Yahoo: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/f ... Ev1nfq90pyimnQYUCGdTov7YF

Edit: What should we expect at Michigain this weekend as far as NASCAR's reaction to the high speeds and the racing?

Excellent.

Quote :

Outside groove gone at Bristol: Bristol Motor Speedway has witnessed the initial laps on its recently altered surface. On day one of a two-day Goodyear Tire test #14-Tony Stewart, #31-Jeff Burton and #15-Clint Bowyer circled the half-mile concrete oval, and will wrap up the session on Wednesday. While it's impossible to predict how the racing action will be when NASCAR hits Bristol for August race week and the IRWIN Tools Night Race, the trio of drivers offered their comments following a full day of lapping the banks of Bristol. The same drivers will return on Wednesday to complete the Goodyear Tire test. Goodyear has mandated that the test sessions are closed to the public and media.
#14-Tony Stewart (who is the only driver to try to run the high groove): "Well, you've definitely lost the top groove. Guys who run up there aren't going to be able to do that because it's pretty slick up there. There's going to be less room to race, that's for sure. We've gone from a three-groove track to two grooves and any time you've got less room to get around it can get pretty interesting. I'm one of the guys who likes that high groove so it's really going to change things up for me. It'll change things for everybody though because when you take away room to race on a track this small with 43 cars& yeah, it's going to tighten things up."
#15-Clint Bowyer: "That outside line  the upper groove  is out of play now. There's going to be a lot closer racing then we've had here in the past. I don't typically run up there but a lot of guys do and I can't see them going up there now. If they do& it's pretty slippery and they'll figure that out in a hurry. The closer we have to race just means something's going to happen. Is it going to make fans happy? Well, narrowing up the track means less room to get around so there's no question there's going to be closer action."
#31-Jeff Burton: "Goodyear is looking to bring a tire with more grip. I really think they have found some stuff that is really promising. As for the track itself, I really can't imagine running up there in that top groove. I think it is going to force everyone more to the middle and bottom of the track. The drivers aren't going to be happy, but the spectators probably will be because it is going to put more cars in a closer space. By taking away that groove, it is going to change your mind about going up there. I think it is going to be two grooves, unless Goodyear brings a tire with a lot of grip. If that is the case, you'll want to run around the bottom. Making the groove smaller is a good thing, it is going to put the action back to the bottom and middle of the track. What has changed is up near the wall, the bottom is the same. Tony experimented and tried out that top groove, and I know he won't be trying that again. If people liked the older track more than the new, they are going to like this. This takes the top groove out and brings it back toward the old track. Taking the groove out moves the track closer to what it used to be."(see more quotes at bristolmotorspeedway.com)(6-13-2012)

Don't have anything that can play that on my work PC. Not sure how much video can prove right now anyway, someone could have run the low line on the track before they tore up the top groove and said "Look its a one groove track". The real test will be in August.

All that video told me was that Bristol is nauseating.

Can definitely see what appears to be some stripped away concrete up top though.

Yeah, all it showed was that all the rubber was on the bottom and the top was missing some banking as we already knew. On the other hand, that was a nice video. I'd get dizzy after a few laps though if I was a passenger in a car there... Driving on the other hand would be a whole different thing.

24 degree banking all the way around will produce racing a little like Dover and the old Bristol mixed I would guess, but on August 25th who knows what it will do.

Best lap speed so far in practice is 199.44 MPH by Juan Pablo Montoya.

I think we can hit 200MPH+ laps this weekend.

Edit: There it is, truex and dale jr have just set 200 MPH laps.

Quote from Gougoodthing :

Best lap speed so far in practice is 199.44 MPH by Juan Pablo Montoya.

I think we can hit 200MPH+ laps this weekend.

Edit: There it is, truex and dale jr have just set 200 MPH laps.

Kind of sad that this session isn't covered on Speed this morning

http://www.nascar.com/races/leaderboard/cup/practice/

As high as these speeds are, and it can be quite dangerous entering the corners, I'm hoping they aren't going to restrict the engines any.

I hope Mark's car stays that quick, he has 4 tenths over Harvick.

Quote from Mustangman759 :

I hope Mark's car stays that quick, he has 4 tenths over Harvick.

That was of course in qualifying trim.

In race trim they look to be going around 196MPH average lap speed.

I really hope that they just leave it how it is.

Edit: Clint Bowyer seems to think that NASCAR will allow it to remain the same in the live press conference on NASCAR.com. . I just hope he's right.

Edit #2: Robin Pemberton and John Darby are rumored to be next up to speak at the Press Conference, but I've not been able to confirm this.

Edit #3: The cars will remain as they were this morning

I stand corrected. All runs today were in race trim. Makes me really wonder what qualifying trim will be like in terms of speed.

http://www.nascar.com/news/120 ... n-fast-testing/index.html

TNT coverage sucks balls.......

i miss FOX sports allready

Quote from BreadC :

TNT coverage sucks balls.......

i miss FOX sports allready

Thankfully TNT only has 6 races, but I don't think that ESPN and ABC are any better myself.

Wally needs to quit trying to talk over Kyle Petty during the broadcasts.

http://www.nascar.com/news/120 ... extra-practice/index.html

Special practice session scheduled for after the Nationwide race Saturday for the new left side tires. Seems like there was some blistering on those tires today during practice when speeds were up to 204 MPH average in qualifying trim

Well personally I like the six races on TNT, because that way I can see these races via an official livestream. And... they have the way best intro music

Ambrose raped that Qualifying.

Rain over night and the race might be moved back to later today depending on weather. It definitly will clear up and they will race it today though

The new tires on the left seemed to have slowed the cars down, but we'll have to see what that means for the race. Reports say that the tires are slicker, and worries have come up around the rgiht side tires now

Still raining.

Green flag is out 15/200 laps down

Just past half way

JR is chasing down Tony Stewart for the lead. Ambrose has now started falling back.

Crying towel for kirt and kyle pl0x

Hattrick for jgr! Lol

These cup cars like to catch on fire when their front ends are destroyed it seems. Thankfully nobody's been hurt by it. Good to see Hamlin alright

I kind of would like to see Dale JR actually win one.

Im hoping jr does it