4 Cup teams test tires as AMS

Nextel Cup Series drivers Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield participated in the first of a two-day tire test at Atlanta Motor Speedway Monday. Goodyear tested tires on both the car of tomorrow and the current car during the eight-hour session.

"It is good to get out here on the track," Valvoline Evernham Racing's Riggs said, according to a track release. "It's nice to see how the current car and the car of tomorrow will handle at AMS, and it will let us know what we can expect this October and next March."

Goodyear tested tires for wear, heat, grip level and load. Hendrick Motorsports' Mears topped the unofficial speed charts with a lap of 183.576 mph (30.20 seconds) in his No. 25 Chevrolet and a lap of 181.770 mph (30.50 seconds) in the No. 25 COT. Mears was followed by Riggs, Richard Childress Racing's Harvick and Bill Davis Racing's Mayfield.

The car of tomorrow is a half-second slower than the other cars, but that should make more exciting racing here," Harvick said. "The COT didn't drive bad at all." Scenedaly.com