"We got to run the Penske car here last week both days and,
obviously, it was a little warmer, but a Cup car is not as fast through the
corners as what a Nationwide car is," Stremme explained. "So, at this time
on the first day last week, we were already in the second or third lane,
running against the wall and a lot of that is because the Cup cars have so
much more horsepower.
"You're going into the corner faster, so you have to slow down a
little bit more in the center and then you can power off. In the Nationwide
car, you're almost wide open for a lap or two and then the tires fall off a
little bit. You carry so much more speed through the corners you have to run
the bottom of the race track. If I was a betting man, I'd almost bet that
the Cup cars are going to race around the top, and whoever's car can run the
middle to the bottom is going to be out front.
"The Nationwide race is going to be on the bottom and whoever's car
is turning the best will win," Stremme continued. "There's no power in these
cars. They don't run down the straightaway, so you've got to get all your
speed through the corners."
Lowe's Motor Speedway was repaved in April 2006 and Stremme said the
surface is aging gracefully.
"The race track has seasoned well. I was fortunate enough to run on
the old race track before it got ground, and then when it got ground and
then with the new asphalt," he said. "I'm really happy at how it's still
Charlotte. You've got to be careful in Turns 3 and 4 during the hot weather.
Then you can look around on the race track and still run up by the wall or
on the bottom. It makes for a lot of fun."
Veteran Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet, praised Goodyear for the tire engineers selected for the May
races at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"I had a scheduling conflict so we kind of got a late start, but
everything is going well, Burton said during the dinner break. "I really
like these tires on this surface. I think it's the best Goodyear has done so
far at this race track, and the few laps I've run have been good."
The most serious incident of the day took place during the afternoon
session when veteran David Green slammed the outside SAFER barrier in Dale
Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 83 Chevrolet. Green said he was making just his third
lap when the right-front tire went down and the car shot to the outside.
Green was evaluated and released from the Carolinas HealthCare System
Infield Medical Center.
Robert Richardson Jr. spun during the afternoon session, but did not
make wall contact.
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