Reutimann wins first pole; Johnson will start 30th

Despite qualifying surprises, test ban dominates the NASCAR discussion

By David Poole

dpoole@charlotteobserver.com

Friday, Nov. 14, 2008

• Final practice | Hamlin fastest late Saturday; Johnson 4th on the list
• Saturday's first practice | Johnson tops the Sprint Cup speed chart
• Qualifying results | How they'll line up Sunday
• David Poole's blog | When the ask exceeds the grasp
• Dennis Terry's blog | Layoff count could be ugly, and it is already
• Turn 3 blog | See what they're saying about Johnson, the economy and a lot more
• Trent Cherry's blog | One more race
• Cup update | It isn't history till it's over, 2nd-place Edwards notes
• Friday Cup speeds | Montoya fastest in practice before qualifying
• Hendrick's prediction? | Industry will get help, Johnson will win
• Tom Higgins' blog | Jimmie chases Cale
• Good times, bad times | Former NASCAR champions hoping for the best

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Friday was a good day for David Reutimann, the driver of the No. 44 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing who won the pole for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a lap at 171.363 mph.

Carl Edwards, trying to stage a miracle comeback in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at the season's final race, did OK, too. Edwards, down 141 points to Jimmie Johnson in the championship playoff, qualified fourth fastest Friday while Johnson will start 30th - tied for his third worse start all year - after getting loose on his qualifying lap.

But Friday's big winner might very well have been a former driver turned track owner sitting in his office nearly 800 miles away.

"We were pretty busy this morning," said Andy Hillenburg, the owner of Rockingham Speedway.

Hillenburg's little corner of the racing world became a more valuable piece of real estate when NASCAR began telling crew chiefs that testing would be suspended for 2009 in all of the sport's touring series.

As of Jan. 1, teams in the Cup, Nationwide, Truck, Camping World East and Camping World West series will not be allowed to test at any track where those series competes.

Teams can still go to weekly racing series tracks, such as Hickory Motor Speedway and Concord Motorsport Park. And they'll also be able to go to Rockingham, a track Hillenburg purchased after NASCAR pulled Cup and Nationwide series dates from it.

"We bought this track hoping to make a positive difference in the sport, and maybe this will help up accomplish this plan," Hillenburg said. "The main thing to do is to do this correctly. I had a couple of guys text me from down there this morning asking me how much I was going to raise the rates. But we haven't."

Details of the testing moratorium are still being worked out, but NASCAR president Mike Helton said the sanctioning body felt that it was important to get the basic message out during the final weekend of competition this year.

NASCAR officials began discussing testing policies with teams this summer. At one point a plan allowing each multicar Cup team 24 days of testing at tracks where that series runs seemed to be the leading proposal. But the economic downturn changed that.

Helton said he didn't know how much money the change would save each team.

"We don't know what the collective number is for the industry," he said. "We do know, or have a pretty good feel through the due diligence that we've done, that this is in the range of tens of millions."

The first and most visible casualty of the change is preseason testing at Daytona. Cup, Nationwide and Truck teams have spent nearly two weeks on-track in January in what amounted to an unofficial preseason to the sport.

Goodyear tire testing will continue, potentially making slots in those tests more coveted. Car owner Rick Hendrick said he would like for teams to be allowed to use data acquisition on the first day at each track. Todd Berrier, crew chief for Kevin Harvick, said he'd like NASCAR to give teams extra practice time at the track as a result.

Helton said those are some of the details still to be worked out, but he wasn't encouraging about much leeway.

"As we talk through those issues, if we give up on any of those components that are captured by saying 'no testing' and no meaning no, we start allowing that to break out," Helton said.

Reaction in the garage was mostly positive.

"I think it's the right thing for NASCAR right now," Rodney Childers, crew chief for the No. 19 Dodges driven by Elliott Sadler. "There are a lot of teams and people struggling with the economy the way it is and sponsors not wanting to spend the money like they did.

"It's going to be the right thing to keep the sport healthy. But it's going to be tough on the teams trying to figure out what to do with their cars to make them better."

But Johnson doesn't like the move.

"I think it's a mistake," Johnson said. "I think the teams need a chance to work on their cars to improve their programs, to put on a better show.

"If we had this rule the start of this year with all the development work that needed to be done with the car, not only for the No. 48 team but the whole series, I don't think we'd be where we are today.

"I do understand and recognize that we need to cut expenses. ...(But) we still have to test. We cannot sit still and we won't."

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