Denny Hamlin: Passing will be difficult at repaved Kansas

• The track has coated its track with asphalt since Denny Hamlin won there in April
• 30 cars broke the track record; Greg Biffle's 184.900 mph lap led the way
• Hamlin said passing will be tough because there isn't a second groove on the surface

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Thirty cars topped the track record Wednesday in the first of two test days at repaved Kansas Speedway, a development Sprint Cup title contender Denny Hamlin said would make passing more difficult in Sunday's race.

Greg Biffle was the fastest of 47 cars in the rain-shortened session on the 1.5-mile oval's fresh asphalt with a lap of 184.900 mph. The track qualifying record is 180.856 mph set by Matt Kenseth in October 2005.

Hamlin, who won the April race before the track was repaved, said the new surface will change the event.

"At this point," he told USA TODAY Sports, "you're racing the racetrack. You're not racing your competitors."

Hamlin said that is typical when NASCAR's premier series competes at a resurfaced track the first time. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who is in third place in the standings and 15 points behind leader Brad Keselowski entering the Hollywood Casino 400, compared Wednesday's test session to what it was like at Michigan International Speedway, which resurfaced its 2-mile oval this season.

Goodyear brought the same tire to Kansas that was used at Michigan in August.

"Michigan was very, very hard to pass as well," said Hamlin, who is third in the point standings behind series leader Brad Keselowski. "You would get around someone and just absolutely lose the entire car, and that was a wider track than this one.

"Right now you've got a car width-and a-half of rubber, maybe. Anything outside of that is irrelevant. They can make the progressive banking all they want, but as long as you have a new surface and a tire that at least adheres to the track a little, you might as well just cut off the top 50 feet of the racetrack. Because it doesn't matter how much banking you put up there, we're not going to run up there."

Joey Logano, who took part in the tire test in August, said that with the Nationwide Series and ARCA also on the track, the groove would be widened. While he admitted passing would be tricky, Logano thought that by Sunday "you'll have a pretty good racetrack."

NASCAR officials were pleased with what they saw Wednesday once cars got to run after a 2 1/2-hour delay because of rain. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby thought Thursday's four-hour test would provide more information to teams.

"So far, so good," he said. "The sky is not falling. Everything is looking fine."

While most of the focus was on drivers getting used to the track for Sunday's Cup race, four teams tested with their version of the 2013 car. NASCAR has yet to set all the specifications for the car, and this test will help in that process.

Trevor Bayne drove a Ford for the Wood Brothers. Parker Kligerman drove a Penske Ford. Brian Vickers drove a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. Josh Wise drove an Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

Bayne said he tried to run alone in the test.

"I got behind one car, and that was enough for me," Bayne said. "That's one of the things they're working on.

"They want these cars to be able to race and to be able to be behind other guys. I was behind Jimmie Johnson, and it got really free on entry. So we had to back up from that."