NASCAR: Charlotte Goodyear tire test notebook

A group of four NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers participated in a two-day Godyear tire test on Tuesday and Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the hopes of finalizing a tire compound for May and the Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 race weekends.

The group included Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray and Brian Scott and thus represented all three manufacturers. It was the second of eight tire tests scheduled by Goodyear and NASCAR as part of the 2016 Unified Testing Plan.

The test was important because temperatures ranged from 70-80 degrees and was the first indicator of how the softer tire compounds and and a lower downforce competition package would hold up on intermediate tracks during the summer months.

Through two mild days in early March, the early returns are proving optimistic, according to Scott.

"We're really encouraged by the tire Goodyear has brought and the tires we're testing here at Charlotte," Scott said. "It's good to have a tire that has a lot of grip that eventually falls off, because as a driver, you can kind of control how to use that grip – either early in a run or late in a run."

While much has been made about the downforce levels this season, track temperatures and developing a tire to line up with them are just as important. McMurray believes the race at Las Vegas on Sunday could have been more exciting but cooler temperatures prevented passing opportunities.

As a result, he believes that the pair of races at Charlotte in May could be closer to Atlanta if Goodyear selects a tire that syncs up with the warmer weather in the coming months.

"When you do a tire test, the temperature can kind of dictate a lot of wear on the tires and where you run on the race track," McMurray said. "The groove really didn't get wide enough at Vegas because it didn't get warm enough and the bottom is where you wanted to be...

"I hope as it gets hotter and we have more fall-off that it will get even better. Goodyear has been pretty aggressive on bringing a softer tire but still getting good wear out of them. I'm somewhat surprised that they've come as far as they have as fast as they have actually, because we tested last year and it didn't go as well.

"Honestly, the cars just didn't do what they said they were going to do or have the grip they told us they would have. This whole test, whatever they said it was going to do, has happened. These tires seem to have grip and fall off pretty well, so I think everyone is going to be pleased with it."

Martin Truex Jr. Downplays Crew Chief Suspension

Pearn (near left, with Truex) was suspended for just one race and fined $50,000, and while Truex was docked 15 points for consecutive roof-flap violations at Daytona and Atlanta, respectively. The team initially appealed the suspension, but following a meeting with NASCAR officials over the weekend, the organization dropped its request.

The initial appeal and deferral allowed Pearn to remain with the team through the Las Vegas race weekend, important because races at 1.5-mile intermediate events make up a bulk of the schedule. In short, it was more vital for Pearn to be with the team at Vegas than Phoenix, a flat one-mile venue.

Former Furniture Row crew chief and current Joe Gibbs Racing technical Todd Berrier will replace Pearn on the pit box on Sunday, mostly serving as an in-race strategist. For his part, Truex downplayed the suspension.

"We've got a good plan," Truex said on Wednesday during the Goodyear tire test at Charlotte. "It's just a little bump in the road. We've got a really strong team and we're prepared for this weekend not having Cole in the garage or the pit box on Sunday.

"I really appreciate Todd offering to help us out and call the race on Sunday. He's a familiar voice on the radio ... I'm not sure how much he will be around our garage during the weekend or what's going to happen with that. I'm going to play it by ear and let (the team) figure that out."

McMurray links digital dashboard to speeding penalties

Pit road speeding penalties are up through the first three races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and some in the sport are attributing that to the new digital dashboard. Jamie McMurray is one such driver and he addressed the issue on Wednesday during a media session for the Goodyear tire test at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"The only complaint I hear from everyone and it's the same for me, is how quickly (or not quickly) the lights react on pit road," McMurray said. "And it's not necessarily as you're trying to run pit road speed, but it's also when you come off the race track on a green flag pit stop and you're trying to slow the car down.

"The lights are somewhat delayed."

Most drivers run a tachometer that displays nine lights that range from different hues of green to red, with green representing within the tolerance and red representing going over the speed limit. McMurray says the digital dashboard simply lags a second behind the actual speed of the car, meaning a driver could be below the speed limit but still displaying red on his dashboard.

"You're (sometimes) trying to figure out if you're above or below," McMurray said. "I think we'll all get used to that. I think McLaren is working to make that (response) a little quicker but that still needs to get a little better."