Earnhardt's and Fellows test Corvette at Daytona

[KC]

Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. began testing the Corvette C5R yesterday at Daytona International Speedway along with Team Corvewtte regular Ron Fellows. The elder ran some of the fastest laps at the speedway yesterday proving that a good racer can race most anything.

[jimclark]

...(Daytona testing will be Jan 4-6). Also we don't know what "turning some of the days fastest laps" means. If they were 5 or 10 secs off Fellows or Pilgrims pace, 'wouldn't be too impressive. Let's see some times before jumping to conclusions.

[marcus]

good point jimclark but i doubt they were 10 seconds of of the other guys pace..they are talented drivers and would probably be more like 3 seconds at this stage until they learn a bit more about turning corners more often and how to set the car up i think they will get pretty close to the others times...but only time will tell

[SL]

Before I make plans to visit Florida for the 24hr race. What is the general entry for this years race like ?

Is it going to be worth the trek from the UK or not. I get discounted airfares so the cost side is not that important.

Simon

[jimclark]

...I would make it to the 12 hours of Sebring instead. Better support racing, also (the TransAm for instance)

[BMWRacerITS]

Marcus-

They are talented drivers, but expect them to be a few seconds off of the pace of the regulars, even with lots of practice. They simply haven't developed the experience/instincts needed for road racing. There are so many things, such as car rotation, trail-braking, etc, that are specific to road racing and can't be mastered without lots of practice. Heck, most NASCAR guys don't even know how to threshold brake, as they generally only squeeze the brake a bit on the ovals.

There are a few NASCAR drivers, Jeff Gordon for instance, who could probably jump in the Vette and challenge if not dust the regulars. Unfortunately, I don't think Earnhardt Jr. is quite on par with such drivers...his dad is approaching that, but only because of years of experience.

Driving in circles takes talent, trust me. But, a road racer can learn to drive in circles MUCH quicker than a circle track man can learn to drive on road courses.

Although, at Daytona, much of the track is an oval anyway...maybe these NASCAR boys will do better than I thought. They won't have staggered tires and driver-side postitive camber to help them out though.

[marcus]

I agree with your point BMW racer..but I still feel they will do a good job..there is a few road races in NASCAR so they do have a bit of experience..but I agree they probably wont be on the same level as the other drivers but they will be close I think