NASCAR: 2018 Cup Series testing dates released
By Alex Herbst
NASCAR officials have revealed the official testing dates for the 2018 season for the Monster Energy Cup Series, including tests for all teams in Charlotte.
As December reaches past the halfway point, we are just one month away from seeing NASCAR teams and drivers back on track for testing ahead of the 2018 season. While the series no longer offers the Preseason Thunder test at Daytona, there will be a number of series sanctioned tests.
Confirmed on Twitter by ESPN’s Bob Pockrass, the NASCAR Cup Series will feature six Goodyear tire tests, three organizational tests, and two half-field tests on the new Charlotte “roval”.
The biggest test days will likely come in the two weeks at the new Charlotte road course for the full Cup Series field. The track is largely untested beyond independent tests of one car around the course by NASCAR, and will be the first preview of what racing there will look like in October. It will also be interesting to see how the field is divided to make the test work for all teams.throughout the coming year, including organizational and full field tests at multiple tracks.
The 2018 NASCAR Cup test schedule includes tests July 10-11 and July 17-18 on Charlotte "roval" w/each Cup team getting to participate in one of the 2-day tests. Organizational tests (1 per org) at Vegas (1/31-2/1), Richmond (8/27-28) & Kansas (9/24-25).
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 14, 2017
Goodyear tests (typically 4 cars) for Cup this year so far set for Texas (1/9-10), Michigan (4/17-18), Indianapolis (4/24-25), Kentucky (5/15-16), (Darlington (6/5-6) and a 2019 tire test at Atlanta (8/14-15). #nascar
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 14, 2017
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Organizational tests will be restricted to one car per team, with Las Vegas and Richmond the notable choices considering their new roles on the Cup calendar. Sin City will now host two races for the first time in track history, the second being in the playoffs. Richmond, meanwhile, will move from the end of the regular season to become the second race of the playoffs, following the new event at Las Vegas.
Goodyear tire tests in 2018 will once again feature four cars, usually at minimum representing each of the three manufacturers. It is interesting to note that all tire tests in the coming year will come at tracks one mile or greater, with Darlington being the shortest. Indianapolis, of course, has become a staple on the tire test calendar ever since the debacle in the Brickyard 400 nearly a decade ago.
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Be sure to check with your closest track to see if any of these tests will be open to the public.