MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Someday when one of Roger Penske's NASCAR teams wants to test a racecar, they won't have to load it up and truck it off to Lakeland, Fla., or Sparta, Ky. They'll just roll it out into the backyard.

That's because Penske plans to use the 70 acres behind his mammoth race shop and build a team-owned test track, which would be the first of its kind in NASCAR. The team owner envisions an oval larger than a half-mile in length, with a skid pad to test lateral forces, an infield road circuit, and even an on-site engineering shed like the one he saw at the Ferrari test facility during a visit to the Formula One team's headquarters.

"We'd be able to try some of the things here so we wouldn't have to go to tracks and spend the kind of money we do," Penske said during the Lowe's Motor Speedway preseason media tour. "Travel today is expensive. We probably will spend a million and half dollars just in testing, from the standpoint of the track rental, transportation, getting back and forth. So this could be a real advantage from the standpoint of cost."

Not to mention competition. NASCAR has tried to reign in testing in recent years, limiting official tests to only certain Nextel Cup venues. And NASCAR's tire leasing program doesn't allow teams to use real Goodyear race tires in unofficial tests, usually conducted at places like USA International Speedway in Lakeland or Kentucky Speedway.

But teams are already circumventing that latter stipulation by using Hoosier tires during unofficial tests. And regardless of what brand of tires are on the car, a private test facility would give Penske an edge none of his competitors can match.

"Having your own skid pad, having your own banked corner, having some rumble strips, being able to work on things like shocks and sensitivities, would be huge," driver Ryan Newman said. "The tire situation, that we can't test on the tires we race with, is difficult to manage. But having a facility where you could do it in your backyard would be totally awesome. It would save me some gas mileage, and it would be a lot easier on the entire team."

Penske said the plans are in an exploratory stage. As for the length, he said only that it would be larger than a half-mile. He foresees a facility with soft walls that would have a commercial use as well, something that could provide entertainment for prospective sponsors or even training for police cadets.

But the race teams would reap the main benefits. Testing is grudge work, often requiring a two-day, midweek trip in a sport where many of the key players are already on the road from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night.

"Just being able to go out without having to worry about, 'I've got to rent the track, I've got to transport 12 guys, I've have to make sure we have hotel rooms, I have to make sure we have lunch,'" said Roy McCauley, Kurt Busch's crew chief. "Yeah, logistically, it's a no-brainer. As a development tool, it's great."

How much would it cost? Right now, Penske said, he isn't sure. But he wants all kinds of bells and whistles like interval timing between the corners, which would help his open-wheel cars get ready for the Indianapolis 500. The price may not matter for a man who just finished consolidating his NASCAR, IndyCar, and sports-car teams into one gargantuan 400,000-square-foot facility.

"Roger can afford it," said rival team owner Ray Evernham. "I just hope he lets me use it."