As expected, Goodyear tires pose no problems at Indy this time
INDIANAPOLIS - NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton enjoyed his view Sunday from the control tower and not from pit road at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he spent most of the 2008 Allstate 400 looking at tire problems.
Goodyear spent a year developing a new tire for Indy, and it appeared to work well in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race. A year after excessive tire wear marred the race, tire problems were not an issue this time.
“It looked like the performance was there,” Pemberton said. “That was nice. The pass for the lead was on the outside, and whoever would have thought that would happen?”
Drivers universally applauded the tire manufacturer's effort, one developed through numerous at-track tests.
Drivers had expected the race to be free of tire issues - and it was. And while some were cautious in the early laps, just in case there was a problem, they quickly discovered tires would play no larger role at Indy than they do on a normal basis.
“I’d have to say the first couple runs when I was sliding the car around, it was kind of hard not to think of beating up the tire," race winner Jimmie Johnson said. "[It] took a while to get used to it. I was watching guys around me sliding their cars. [I thought], 'OK, we can beat up the tires.' After the first stop, I heard tires looked great. Just kind of lost the feelings and concerns from last year and focused on what we could do."
And that was exactly what Goodyear officials had felt would happen.
“Wear was excellent, everything looked good,” Goodyear’s Greg Stucker said. “Really no concerns whatsoever. There were a lot of green-flag stops on full [fuel] runs. … It is a good accomplishment. People can take some pride in that.”
