Crew chiefs asked to help set testing policy

John Darby, NASCAR's Sprint Cup director, had a nice surprise for the series crew chiefs Saturday, offering them the opportunity to guide the sanctioning organization in setting next year's testing policy.

"NASCAR's the policy-maker, but one thing that's really reliant on the teams' input is what we test, how many times we test and where we test," Darby said after a brief meeting with the crew chiefs in the garage area at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.


"In the past, it's just been a matter of, "Here, select your race tracks and let's go.' This year, I felt it was time that we just sat down with everybody and talked and said, "Look, we're open to any suggestions you have,' from leaving our testing policy exactly like it was in '08, all the way to going to what I'm going to call wide-open testing, no limits -- any track, any week, any time, as many times as you want to go.

"We're prepared for either way, it doesn't matter to us. We'll listen to what all of the teams come back with for suggestions and formulate a test plan for 09 and go forward."

Darby said his offer was met with some disbelief from the assembled crew chiefs.

"There was a pretty good gasp of air when you got to talking about wide-open testing because the immediate perception is, "Holy cats, we're going to be testing 38 weeks a year,' "he said.

NASCAR officially allowed seven open tests this season at tracks where the Cup teams race. The teams can also opt to hold private tests as often as they like at tracks where the Cup cars do not race.

"After you talk to everybody for a little bit and ask them to count the actual number of tests that they currently do, at all the places that they go to test, and apply that to a wide-open test policy ... there probably isn't a whole lot of difference at the end of the day," Darby said.

Darby noted that part of his thinking on this subject is the fact that testing at a track like Milwaukee to simulate racing at New Hampshire -- which several teams did -- would not likely be as effective as actually testing at New Hampshire.

"There still isn't anything as accurate as making laps on a race track and testing for multiple purposes," he explained.

Darby said he expects the crew chiefs to go back to their teams and talk to the owners and others in their organizations to come up with their own ideas.

"This is just food for their thought and I told them we'd get back together in a couple of weeks and see what kind of reaction we have and starting putting it together," Darby said.

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TRACKING CONDITIONS: This is the first Cup weekend since Bruton Smith's Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the New Hampshire track and, other than some fresh paint and new personnel, there hasn't been enough time to make big changes -- yet.

But Smith, whose company owns six other tracks which have Cup races, is known for making positive -- and often major -- changes to his facilities.

There has been some speculation that he might decide to alter the nearly flat, 1.058-mile New Hampshire oval to make it easier for the competitors to pass and race side-by-side.

"I don't think Bruton is going to do anything to the track to make it any worse, by any means," Kevin Harvick said. "I think he wants to make the facility better."

He was asked if Smith should add banking to the track?

"I like flatter race tracks," Harvick said. "Richmond is a pretty racy track and it is flat. I think (Smith) is probably looking to make some improvements to the race track in all areas where there is a little bit of banking here and there. I think we will just leave it in his hands.

"(But) we don't want another mile and a half race track. I think I can speak for most everybody in the garage. I think we need some tracks maybe with a little bit different character, but I don't think we need another mile and a half track."

SMI's tracks at Charlotte, Atlanta, Texas and Las Vegas are all 11/2-mile ovals. The company also has the one-mile oval at Bristol and the road course in Sonoma, as well as the recently purchased 11/2-mile oval at Kentucky, which does not have a Cup race.

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NO DECISION, YET: Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart is still mulling over his racing future.

In the wake of Friday's announcement that Casey Mears will not return to the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet next season, Stewart was asked how close he is to making his own announcement about whether he will stay with Joe Gibbs Racing or move on to another team?

"I don't know, it may be pushed back even more now," Stewart said. "We'll wait and see. It's however long it takes to make the right decision."

Would he consider driving the No. 5?

"Absolutely," Stewart said. "You've got to. There's no one in this garage area that's not going to look that direction, so you've got to look at that."

Stewart, whose next ride might include at least part ownership in the team he signs with, said there are still "a lot of variables to look at" before he decides what's next.

"The good news is that we have time to still look," he said. "We're going to have to make a decision at some point."

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MAKING UP GROUND: One week after failing to qualify for the road race in Sonoma, Calif., things are looking up for former open-wheel champion Dario Franchitti.

Last year's IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, now a Cup rookie, qualified a season-best seventh here Friday and was among the fastest drivers in both practice sessions Saturday on the 1.058-mile New Hampshire oval.

"The results don't show it, but we ran really well at Pocono and really well at Michigan and we really expected good things to happen at Sonoma, and we didn't qualify," said Franchitti, who is just about fully recovered from a broken ankle that also kept him out of five races.

"That was a real low point for us, so to come back here, come back strong, was really, really good. It was a big confidence boost for everybody on the team and gives everybody a spring in their step again."

Asked what would a good finish for him on Sunday, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver said, "Finish where we start would be awesome."

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CANADIAN FEAT: Patrick Carpentier, who will start from the front on Sunday, is only the second Canadian to win a pole position in the history of NASCAR's top stock car series.

Lloyd Shaw, from Toronto, won the pole for the 1953 International 200 at Langhorne, Pa., Speedway. Shaw averaged 82.2 mph on the mile oval, while Quebec native Carpentier's pole-winning speed was 129.776.