Dodge teams will conduct their first preseason manufacturer's test on Jan. 16 and 17, with Jan. 18 as a rain date. There is a lot to accomplish. That race was one of the most memorable of the season, but the aero package has yet been used in a race at Daytona, which leaves plenty of uncertainty for crew chiefs to work around. With those rules not in effect again until the April 22 race at Talladega, teams must also prepare for the tracks that the series visits more often. In the next 10 weeks, we are going to test at Daytona, Lakeland, Fla., Rockingham and Las Vegas.
Testing is important.
That's where you learn about your car. When we go to the tracks on race weekends, we usually have just a few hours to practice to get ready to qualify and race. Testing gives us more time, which means we can try a variety of car setups to see how the car will react. My crew chief, James Ince, is known to come back home from a test, cut the heck out of the car, and take a better car back to the track for the race. Benson, Ince and the remainder of his team have a busy testing schedule, including the work ahead at Daytona.