CONCORD, N.C. (May 5, 2008) - "Data" was the word of the day as nearly 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams tested Monday at Lowe's Motor Speedway in preparation for the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the May 25 Coca-Cola 600.

Throughout the garage area, engineers and crew chiefs poured through computer data gathered on the 1.5-mile superspeedway as teams continue to learn the handling nuances of the new Sprint Cup Series race car.

Elliott Sadler ended up on top of the speed chart, posting a lap of
186.245 mph during the evening session. Sadler was driving the No. 19b Best Buy Dodge. A.J. Allmendinger was the biggest surprise of the testing session. He ended up second fastest at 184.150 mph in the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota.

Kevin Harvick, last year's winner of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, was third fastest at 184.118 mph in the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet with Kyle Busch fourth on the speed chart at 183.886 in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota. Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five at 183.492 mph in the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford.

A last-minute addition to the NASCAR schedule, teams praised NASCAR and speedway officials for hosting the two-day session.
"It's so tough to get track time right now, especially on tracks that we compete at," said three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Jimmie Johnson.

"If you're not on the real track, it's really tough to have anything to carry over and help the team. On top of that, to get tires, because without the right tires to test with, it's a very big struggle too.

"This test was welcomed by everyone. We're glad to be out here and I think it will help us advance the Car of Tomorrow and put on a better show here for the 600 and All-Star weekend," concluded the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet.

"Obviously, this was not a scheduled test, so I think it's great for us to get extra information," said Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. "We're gathering all kinds of data with the car and obviously looking for speed. Sometimes that takes more time. When you only have a couple hours of practice at the race track, it's sometimes hard to find that. You can take your time a little more (during a test) and really try things and make changes.
"Based on our first couple of runs out there this morning, I'm pretty glad we're here," Gordon added. "Gathering data and information is what we're really here for. I think that by having all the cars here, it's going to make for a little bit better race. The more cars and teams that test, the more we get the cars closer to one another and we won't have one car that just checks out."
"We struggled a little bit at Texas and Atlanta and feel like we learned some good things at Nashville last week and we're looking forward to seeing how they apply here to Charlotte," said defending Coca-Cola 600 winner Casey Mears. "The 1.5-mile tracks are the ones that have been tricky for us this year.
"This car is quite a bit different," added the driver of the No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet. "The car is still aero tight and the speeds are pretty similar. We're getting around the tracks pretty well. I just think in a pack, it's a little bit more difficult to drive. It seems like when someone is on the outside of you, they tend to get a lot looser."

"With the old car, it was whoever handled the best," said Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota. "With this one, it's whoever doesn't handle as bad as everyone else. This test is definitely important.

This is a big race, an important race for all the teams because it's in their backyards. I'm proud of NASCAR for taking the initiative to add this test to the schedule."

There were two incidents during the 10-hour testing session. The first came shortly after the lunch break when David Gilliland slid high in Turn 2 and brushed the outside SAFER barrier. The Riverside, Calif., resident was able to drive his No. 38 Ford back to the garage area. Then, Scott Riggs spun in Turn 4 during the evening session, but did not make wall contact.
NASCAR Sprint Cup testing continues from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday and the frontstretch grandstand will be open free of charge.

Also, the tradition of the "Royal Flush" continues at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday as officials and fans will test the speedway's massive sewer and water infrastructure. Fans are invited to lend a hand with the flushing and participants will receive an official "Royal Flush Society" T-shirt and have the opportunity to receive $5 off any Coca-Cola 600 ticket purchased on Tuesday evening.
Tickets for all May events at Lowe's Motor Speedway, including the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and the May 25 Coca-Cola 600, can be purchased by calling the track ticket office at 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com.
 

The official speeds:

Morning Session
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 88b, 182.352; 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 88, 180.608; 3. Jeff Burton, 31b, 180.596; 4. Brad Keselowski, 70, 180.120; 5.
Kevin Harvick, 29b, 179.611; 6. Kevin Harvick, 29, 179.241; 7. Jeff Gordon, 24, 178.672; 8. Brad Keselowski, 70b, 178.283; 9. Jeff Burton, 31, 178.247; 10. Clint Bowyer, 07, 177.026.

Afternoon Session
1. Kyle Busch, 18b, 179.736; 2. Carl Edwards, 99, 179.42; 3. Jeff Burton, 31, 179.200; 4. Kurt Busch, 2b, 178.838; 5. Elliott Sadler, 19b, 178.832; 6. Jamie McMurray, 26, 178.784; 7. Mark Martin, 8, 178.784; 8. Kyle Busch, 18, 178.743; 9. Kurt Busch, 2, 178.719; 10. Greg Biffle, 16, 178.719; 11. Scott Riggs, 66b, 178.630; 12. Matt Kenseth, 17, 178.625; 13. Kasey Kahne, 9b, 178.577; 14. Kasey Kahne, 9, 178.394; 15. Ryan Newman, 12, 178.359; 16. Jimmie Johnson, 48, 178.336; 17. Casey Mears, 5b, 178.136; 18.
A.J. Allmendinger, 84, 178.047; 19. Martin Truex Jr., 1, 178.006; 20.
Elliott Sadler, 19, 177.936; 21. Dave Blaney, 22, 177.93; 22. Sterling Marlin, 40, 177.784; 23. Tony Stewart, 20, 177.749; 24. Kevin Harvick, 29, 177.713; 25. Denny Hamlin, 11b, 177.602; 26. Bobby Labonte, 43, 177.567; 27.
David Reutimann, 44, 177.532; 28. David Ragan, 6, 177.468; 29. Travis Kvapil, 28, 177.404; 30. Clint Bowyer, 07b, 177.387; 31. Paul Menard, 15, 177.381; 32. Scott Wimmer, 33, 177.340; 33. Scott Riggs, 66, 177.235; 34.
Dave Blaney, 22b, 177.212; 35. David Stremme, 06, 177.183; 36. Sam Hornish Jr., 77, 177.078; 37. Clint Bowyer, 07, 176.765; 38. Casey Mears, 5, 176.690; 39. Denny Hamlin, 11, 176.684; 40. David Gilliland, 38, 176.621; 41. Tony Stewart, 20b, 176.586; 42. Reed Sorenson, 41b, 176.580; 43. Brian Vickers, 83, 176.499; 44. Kevin Harvick, 29b, 176.102; 45. Regan Smith, 01, 176.102; 46. J.J. Yeley, 96, 175.953; 47. Patrick Carpentier, 10, 175.816; 48. Joe Nemechek, 78, 175.633; 49. Jon Wood, 21, 175.570; 50. Michael Waltrip, 55, 175.262; 51. Robby Gordon, 7b, 175.058; 52. Robby Gordon, 7, 174.967; 53. Juan Pablo Montoya, 42, 174.933; 54. Kyle Petty, 45, 174.729; 55. Juan Pablo Montoya, 42b, 174.661; 56. Michael McDowell, 00, 174.492; 57.
Bobby Labonte, 43b, 174.436; 58. Sam Hornish Jr., 77b, 174.121; 59. Tony Raines, 08, 173.975: 60. Stanton Barrett, 50, 172.695.

Evening Session
1. Elliott Sadler, 19b, 186.245; 2. A.J. Allmendinger, 84, 184.150; 3. Kevin Harvick, 29b, 184.118; 4. Kyle Busch, 18, 183.886; 5. Jamie McMurray, 26, 183.492; 6. Brad Keselowski, 70, 183.113; 7. Scott Wimmer, 33, 182.599; 8. Ryan Newman, 12b, 182.556; 9. Sam Hornish Jr., 182.328; 10. Paul Menard, 15, 182.315; 11. Denny Hamlin, 11b, 182.285; 12. Jimmie Johnson, 48, 182.211; 13. Kyle Busch 18b, 182.168; 14. Kasey Kahne, 9b, 182.156; 15.
Robby Gordon, 7, 182.149; 16. Travis Kvapil, 28, 182.137; 17. Carl Edwards, 99, 182.002; 18. 18. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 88b, 181.837; 19. Mark Martin, 8, 181.83; 20. Greg Biffle, 16,181.677; 21. Kurt Busch, 2b, 181.629; 22. Jeff Burton, 31, 181.586; 23. Scott Riggs, 66b, 181.555; 24. Kurt Busch, 2, 181.409; 25. Sam Hornish Jr., 77b, 181.269; 26. Casey Mears, 5b, 181.245; 27. Brian Vickers, 83, 181.068; 28. Tony Stewart, 20, 181.026; 29. Dave Blaney, 22b, 181.002; 30. Juan Pablo Montoya, 42, 180.953; 31. Dave Blaney, 22, 180.838; 32. Matt Kenseth, 17, 180.783; 33. David Gilliland, 38, 180.783; 34. David Ragan, 6, 180.717; 35. Sterling Marlin, 40, 180.705; 36.
David Reutimann, 44, 180.638; 37. Tony Stewart, 20b, 180.572; 38. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 88, 180.536; 39. Reagan Smith, 01, 180.475; 40. Ryan Newman, 12, 180.445; 41. Kasey Kahne, 9, 180.439; 42. Martin Truex Jr., 1, 180.301; 43. J.J. Yeley, 96, 180.264; 44. Jeff Burton, 31b, 180.240; 45. Michael Waltrip, 55, 180.228; 46. Clint Bowyer, 07b, 180.192; 47. Jon Wood, 21, 180.066; 48. David Stremme, 06, 179.892; 49. Clint Bowyer, 07, 179.671. 50.
Bobby Labonte, 43, 179.551; 51. Scott Riggs, 66, 179.390; 52. Casey Mears, 5, 179.372; 53. Reed Sorenson, 41b, 179.307; 54. Joe Nemechek, 78, 179.206; 55. Patrick Carpentier, 10, 179.194; 56. Stanton Barrett, 50, 179.063; 57.
Robby Gordon, 7b, 178.595; 58. Bobby Labonte, 43b, 178.436; 59. Kevin Harvick, 29, 178.235; 60. Kyle Petty, 45, 178.094; 61. Michael McDowell, 00, 177.813; 62. Tony Raines, 08, 176.684.