Edwards, Busch conduct Goodyear tyre test.

Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards stole a minor march on some of their opposition by conducting the first of two days of Goodyear tyre testing scheduled for Atlanta Motor Speedway this week.

Busch was sporting new colours when he stepped out on track, a brand new blue firesuit reflecting his winter move to the historic #2 Miller Lite team. Edwards, meanwhile, was at the wheel of his regular mount, the pair charged with putting the latest Goodyear rubber through its paces.

"Goodyear is looking at wear, heat, overall lap times, grip level and load," Busch's new crew chief, Roy McCauley, revealed, "Based on all the data taken during the test, they will choose the tyre that will not generate too much heat, but provide enough grip to make the driver comfortable."

Edwards posted the fastest unofficial time of the day with a lap of 189.993mph, equating to 29.18secs, while Busch's fastest lap was 187.869mph. Both times were comparable to race speeds.

"Man, this place is fast," Busch commented, "but I enjoy coming here - I think all the drivers enjoy coming to this race track."

It wasn't only Goodyear that was benefiting from the early test, however, as Busch also reflected on the gains he and Edwards could make.

"With the new testing rules, this test is beneficial for our team," he admitted, "Goodyear gets to use our resources to test their tyres, but the biggest thing is we get track time."