Viso and Battistini complete 2-Day Minardi test

NASCAR officials released the 2008 testing schedule for all three of its national series Tuesday.

Sprint Cup teams will test at Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, California Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Pocono Raceway and Lowe's Motor Speedway. All races next season will be contest in the model that had been known as the car of tomorrow this season, when it was used in 16 races.

Sprint Cup testing begins at Daytona with half the teams on the track Jan. 7-9, with a rain date of Jan. 10, and the other half will test Jan. 14-16, with a rain date of Jan. 17.

The Las Vegas test is scheduled for Jan. 28-29. Then the teams head to California (Jan. 31-Feb. 1), Phoenix (March 3-4), Pocono (May 27-28) and Lowe's (Sept. 23-24).

"NASCAR received input and recommendations from each of the crew chiefs that was valuable to our decision-making process in determining the testing schedule for 2008," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president for competition. "The teams were interested in testing at some of the venues that the new car will be competing at for the first time. This lineup of tests will provide the teams the opportunity to prepare for a successful 2008 season."

The Nationwide Series, formerly known as the Busch Series, teams also begin testing at Daytona, with sessions scheduled for Jan. 18-22.

The series then heads to Las Vegas (Jan. 30-31), Richmond International Raceway (March 24-25, rain date March 26) and Lowe's Motor Speedway (May 12-13, rain date May 14).

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will also begin its testing at Daytona Jan. 11-13. The teams will then test at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Jan. 22-23, rain date Jan. 24), and Martinsville Speedway (March 12-13, rain date March 14).