DANVILLE, VA. - Nearly 25 NASCAR stars testing the Car of Tomorrow for its road course debut flocked to VIRginia International Raceway Tuesday, taking advantage of the track's test days to prepare for the Sonoma and Watkins Glen races.

The day went almost without incident as Tony Stewart had an engine problem almost as soon as he hit the track in the morning. Then Denny Hamlin had a differential failure late in the day, causing the car to be towed in behind a team truck.

The best lap times of the day, on VIR's 2.25-mile North Course, hovered just under one minute, twenty-nine seconds, but differences in tires and sometimes in time of day, make absolute comparisons meaningless. Several teams had laps around 1:28.8, including Bobby Labonte, Marcos Ambrose, and the Hendrick team's development driver.

With the wide variety of tires used, Labonte joked that at Sonoma, at least everyone would be on the same tires. He also expressed hope that they would be "better" than the tires used last weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway's Coca Cola 600, where some teams elected not to change tires for one or two fuel stops.

Testing continues on Wednesday, with several teams leaving after Tuesday's testing ended, but several more expected. Teams expected to test on Wednesday include Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, DEI, RCR, Petty, Hall of Fame Racing, Ray Evernham and several others.

VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located just on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Virginia.

Reopened in 2000, VIR today hosts nearly every kind of motorsport event possible. In addition to its 3.27 mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America's first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park; the Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8 mile paved karting circuit; The Lodge at VIR, a 27-room trackside hotel; the VIR Paddock Suites and Garages, with 18 dual-purpose hospitality/lodging units and garages; Camp Motorsport; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse.

   VIR's next major event is the June 8-10 Heacock Classic Gold Cup Historic Races, where fans can see classic racing cars celebrating the track's fiftieth anniversary. Legendary driver and creator of the Cobra Carroll Shelby has agreed to be Grand Marshal and will be reunited with the Maserati 450S model he drove to a victory in the track's first feature race. The racing is only a small part of the weekend's planned festivities, so make arrangements now to attend. Tickets are available online at the track's web site, www.virclub.com, by logging onto www.etix.com or by calling the track at 434.822.7700.