Daytona test 96-12-18

Goodyear tests NASCAR Goody's Dash tires at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 18, 1996) -- In an unusual move, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. was at Daytona International Speedway today testing NASCAR Goody's Dash Series tires for the season-opening Discount Auto Parts 200 on Friday, Feb. 14. Defending DAP 200 and Series champion Lyndon Amick was one driver who tested the newly-sized rubber for the Dash cars while Mike Swaim Jr. warmed-up for his Daytona ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series debut Friday with some laps in his Dash car. "NASCAR has allowed the Dash cars to go to a 15" bead diameter tire rather than the 13" tire they used to run," said Goodyear development engineer Ben Hyder. "What we were here to do was come up with our compound set-up for the race in February, and the test went very well." "This is an awesome place to be and I'm still in awe today," said Amick at the test. "I thought we'd be contenders for the championship but I never thought we could win it." The championship has provided a springboard for what Amick hopes are bigger and better things in 1997. "We're trying to move up," said the 19-year-old who became the youngest ever to win a stock car race at Daytona when he won the Discount Auto Parts 200 in 1996. "We're going to run the Busch race down here at Daytona (Daytona 300, Feb. 15) and we're gonna try to run the rest of the Busch races, too. "That's just part of moving up, but to start off here, well, this is just an awesome race track." Between 15-20 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series teams will test Dec. 20-22 for the Feb. 9 Daytona ARCA 200. Planning to test are defending Series champion Tim Steele, STP/Prestone Rookie of the Year Blaise Alexander, Dash graduate Dan Pardus of Daytona Beach, Mark Thompson, Harris DeVane and Kevin Ray, among others.