This weekend, NASCAR team owners and drivers offered their points of view on NASCAR's new ban on testing for the 2009 season. Most looked at it as a positive move by the sport in an effort to cut costs for the teams, while others saw it as a mistake.

One factor in this equation that is now letting their voices be heard are the speedways where these tests are typically conducted. While a ban on testing will save the industry - according to NASCAR president Mike Helton - tens of millions of dollars, tracks and their surrounding area tend to benefit anytime the NASCAR circuit comes to town - even for a test session. Yet, despite the economic impact testing brings to their market, track officials seem to be in line with NASCAR's decision.

"We applaud NASCAR's decision to suspend testing for 2009 and hope it results in significant cost savings for the teams," Marcus Smith, president of Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Lowe's Motor Speedway explained. "We look forward to working with NASCAR and the teams to create new opportunities for fan interaction and event promotion at our speedways outside of race weeks, similar to what the test sessions have offered in the past."

One of the biggest tracks to suffer from this new policy will be the Daytona International Speedway. Historically the home to preseason testing for all three series, Daytona has been able to build up their 'Preseason Thunder' tests into a fan attraction. However, with last week's announcement the speedway is now forced to readjust its schedule in just a short amount of time.

"We support NASCAR in trying to help with expenses across the board for everybody involved in the sport," track president Robin Braig pointed out. "DIS will continue to be busy during the months of December and January as we're hosting ARCA RE/MAX Series testing, Daytona KartWeek By Cometic Gasket and Rolex 24 At Daytona testing. In addition, we will continue to work with NASCAR to host some driver-focused events in January. Without testing, this will give us the opportunity to put more focus on promoting the upcoming Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 24-25 as well as DIRECTV Speedweeks and the 51st annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15."

One track president that remains unsure of the total effect of the policy is that of Eddie Gossage. While the president of Texas Motor Speedway sees the cost cutting aspect a positive for teams, he also sees the potential negative of the situation.

"If NASCAR eliminates all testing - truly eliminates it - during these economic times then this is a good call," Gossage explained. "If all it does is force teams to continue to test but only at non-NASCAR tracks that likely feature lesser safety standards, then the policy is counter productive. I appreciate NASCAR's intent and time will tell if true results match the intent. I strongly encourage NASCAR to increase the amount of official practice time on race weekends to help continue the development of the new Sprint Cup car."

As Gossage pointed out, time will only tell how this new testing ban will work out for teams, NASCAR and the tracks they run on. While most are in favor of the new rule, there are obviously still a lot of unknowns and unanswered questions. With so much of this dependent on the economy, it should be interesting to see whether a rebound of the economy will change NASCAR's mind at any point throughout the 2009 season.

"Due to the proximity to team shops, Lowe's Motor Speedway is the most cost-effective speedway for testing," Smith went on to say. "Should the need arise for NASCAR to revisit the 2009 testing policy, we would welcome discussions on how to provide teams money-saving opportunities at our facility."