Goess Completes Two-Day Test at Talladega
Greenville Toyota Team Preps For Superspeedway Racing
Index Size 253 X 172
Craig Goess, Jr. has wrapped up a two-day test session at racing's fastest oval, Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. For Goess, it was his first trip to the historic facility and he was more than pleased with the results that came from the trip. Goess tested with his three Eddie Sharp Racing teammates and was the fastest of the four in his No. 81 Greenville Toyota Toyota.
“I couldn't have asked for better days,” said Goess. “The weather was perfect and we got more done in one day than the three days we were in Daytona. We made a ton of changes, and we would be consistently faster each time we went back out on the track.”
Goess has never competed in a superspeedway event, with his prior experience being in Legends Cars, Late Models and the NASCAR Camping World East Series in 2008, where the largest track was just over a mile in length. Goess is now preparing himself for his move the ARCA RE/MAX Series and their first event at Daytona International Speedway on February 7th. The series also competes at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
“It certainly made me feel good to run as well as we did,” Goess stated. “Eight of 10 changes we made went the right way. We tried a lot of different things from the transmissions to the front end geometry. We kept picking up a tenth here, then two tenths there and by the end, we were a second faster than our first run.”
The extra practice has also allowed Goess to work with new crew chief, Patrick Donahue, who spearheaded Scott Speed's efforts last year for Eddie Sharp Racing. The time together has built up each other's confidence in one another, as well as their communication level.
“All the changes Patrick was making to the car made it consistently faster,” said Goess. “It made Patrick feel better since we were struggling just a bit at the Daytona test session. I'm enjoying working with Patrick and think when we get to Daytona we will be a front running car. The guys have been focusing a lot on getting these cars set up for the superspeedways and made severe improvements since we were there at the test. I'm looking forward to getting to Daytona.”
Daytona is the season's first race and being able to practice at the two superspeedways on the schedule is giving Goess more confidence heading into the season opener.
“I'm definitely getting more comfortable in the racecar,” Goess acknowledged. “I like being able to be in a car and run as many laps as I can. With it being just my teammates and I testing at Talladega, it didn't feel as if we were wasting time. We were being so efficient and productive.”
When the series returns to Talladega in the spring, Goess will be anxious to get back on the track.
“I had so much fun at Talladega,” continued Goess. “The track is so smooth. I felt as if I should've been going 220-230 miles per hour.”
Goess won't quite reach those speeds, but he's determined to be fast and a front-runner upon return to Talladega, as well as Daytona.
Goess' return to a superspeedway comes in just over a week when his No. 81 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Toyota heads to Daytona International Speedway for the running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 on Saturday, February 7th.
