Kyle Busch testing tires for Goodyear earlier this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Atlanta Motor Speedway Photos) » More Photos

TIRE TEST IN HOT ‘LANTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Kyle Busch and fellow series drivers Travis Kvapil and Scott Riggs this week took part in two days of Goodyear tire testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The three drivers, their respective crews and Goodyear engineers spent two days testing a variety of builds, compounds and configurations on AMS’ 1.54-mile quad-oval track.

“Goodyear brought a lot of different tires and compounds, and we all pretty much found one tire we liked,” said Riggs, who drives for Haas-CNC Racing. “It was really manageable, consistent and predictable on a long run. It was something you could actually drive and manipulate to make the car get around the race track. We all seemed to be in agreement that there was at least one tire we were all happy with.”

ROUSH FENWAY PLAYING CATCH-UP Although Roush-Fenway Racing has made tremendous progress with NASCAR’s new-generation race car in the past year or so, the team is still lacking on flat tracks like Indianapolis Motor Speedway, according to team driver Greg Biffle.

“Roush Fenway, as a company, we’re not as good at the flat tracks as some of the other teams are,” said Biffle. “That’s obvious – Loudon, Martinsville, even though they’re smaller than Indy, they still have the same characteristics of that flat track. And, predominantly, we have not been the best at those race tracks – and quite honestly, it’s frustrating for us. We’re getting an aggressive test plan together to try and combat and get better at those places. But we go there and we give our best, and normally that’s in the top five, certainly top 10. We want to win at those places, and the Brickyard, especially, is a place we want to win at. We feel like we’re going to be competitive.”

Biffle would love to give Roush Fenway its first Indy win this Sunday in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. But at a minimum he needs a solid finish — although Biffle is seventh in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, he’s just 62 points ahead of the 13th-place driver with seven races left to go until the field is set for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. “We just don’t have those finishes that we need to have to make us solid in the Chase,” said Biffle. “If we would’ve had those finishes, we’d be basically locked in now. Instead, we’re fighting to stay in that top 12.”