Jimmie Johnson is pleased with the results of a Goodyear tire test he and three other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams participated in at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week, Motorsport reports.
The driver of the No .48 Chevrolet SS said he was able to find some extra speed during the test when compared to the last tire test he participated in, which was in the fall of 2015 at Kansas. This is despite new-for-2016 measures that would theoretically slow the car down.
“It was good to knock the rust off and get ready for the season,” Johnson told Motorsport. “In developing a tire for the rules package, things are acting a little different than we anticipated.”
“I was at the Kansas test with this package and tire and we were able to create a lot of falloff. With these cool conditions (this week) and the surface here being so good still, it’s been tough to create the falloff we’re all looking for.”
He continued.
“We’re just fast. We’re really fast. We’ve taken downforce off the cars; we’ve lowered the gear ratio – a lot of things to slow the car down and we’re every bit as fast, or faster than we were last year.”
For 2016 a new low-downforce aero package is being used that is intended to slow cornering speeds down and thus make passing easier. The package is similar to those used during the 2015 NASCAR season at Darlington and Kentucky.
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