Stewart, others question Goodyear's tire choice

By Lee Montgomery - Associate Editor

Monday, March 10, 2008

Article Rating: 5.0
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Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCAR

HAMPTON, Ga. – Tony Stewart finished second behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But the performance of Goodyear’s tires wiped away any smile that may have been on Stewart’s face.

Stewart, long a Goodyear critic, lashed out again at the tire manufacturer after the race.

“I’ve been racing for 28 years and been part of a lot of different professional series and never seen a quality of racing tire like I’ve seen this weekend,” Stewart said. “If Goodyear thinks that was their best effort today, I’m really disappointed.

“I ran second, but I wouldn’t re-run this race for any amount of money in the world. It was just that bad. We’re pleading with Goodyear, ‘Do something about this. Make it better.’”

Other drivers voiced the opinion that the tire was too hard for the surface of the 1.54-mile track, but Goodyear Marketing Manager for Motorsports Justin Fantozzi asserted that his company’s main task is to bring the safest tire possible to each track.

“We’re tremendously proud of the wear rates we saw here,” Fantozzi said after Stewart made his postrace comments. “We have a defined development process for this particular tire. We started in August with the development test here in Atlanta. From those wear rates and those data sets, we made a recommendation for the open house test [in October].

“That was a different tire than we actually raced on here in October. Based on those wear rates not being acceptable, in our opinion, we had another development test here in December and made that recommendation for here.”

But though the wear rates may have been good for Goodyear, it made racing at Atlanta nearly an impossible task, drivers said.

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“We couldn’t run side-by-side,” third-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “We’d wreck. We’d had to let everybody go by. Every time you’d got beside a guy, you’re just like, ‘Take it.’”

No matter how much practice time his Hendrick Motorsports team had, Earnhardt Jr. said they weren’t going to get NASCAR’s new model car hooked up to the tire. It was “way too hard,” he said.

“I’m glad we’re past it,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Hopefully there was a good lesson learned. Goodyear doesn’t like to hear people bashing them tires, and I don’t like doing it. But I ain’t going to sit here and put up with this. And I don’t think any of the other drivers are going to do it.”

Stewart acknowledged that Goodyear does need to provide a safe tire, “but at the same time, you’ve got to provide a product that is competitive and current.”

“I guess I can’t say it’s surprising because they got run out of Formula One, CART, the IRL, they got run out of World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, they got run out of USAC’s divisions because they couldn’t keep up and couldn’t make a quality product,” Stewart said. “This weekend shows their true colors and what they’re about.”

Stewart said Goodyear hasn’t been able to keep up with the technology that’s in NASCAR now and that there aren’t “enough quality people” at Goodyear to make a good tire for NASCAR.

Fantozzi said he didn’t want to get into a “one-on-one” battle with Stewart, but stood by the tire decision made by Goodyear’s engineers.

Stewart asserted that the tire maker told teams a “week before we come to Atlanta” that there will be a new tire for the race, giving teams tire data at that time, too. Fantozzi denied that.

“That data was available over a month ago,” Fantozzi said. “We have been fielding technical questions since Daytona.”

While Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. hoped Goodyear would bring a different tire for the October race at Atlanta, Fantozzi said the company would stick to its usual approach.

“We’ll do the same exact thing we do every race,” Fantozzi said. “We’ll have that postrace data analysis meeting. We now have a new set of data. We’ll go back to Akron and sit down with the engineers and go through the process again and see where that leads us for the fall race.”

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Comments

32 responses to "Stewart, others question Goodyear's tire choice"
  1. 1
    Lee Pflug said:
    Mar 9, 2008 at 8:42 PM

    I'd bet even Dave Marcus would have complained about the Goodyear product this time! (For you young fans, Marcus was a BIG backer of Goodyear) It's time for more drivers to stand up to Goodyear. OH NASCAR will get all upset but it's about time something is done. I'm totally with Stewart & Earnhardt.

    Report as Abuse
  2. 2
    David Daffron said:
    Mar 10, 2008 at 4:40 AM

    Goodyear keeps saying they want to bring the safest tire to each track, but how can they say they are the safest tires when the drivers cant race side by side and almost spin out coming of corners! That doesnt sound safe to me. I under stand they need a happy medium between wear and handeling but i think they should have a tire that wears more and handles better. Nascar always gives manditory cautions to inspect tires that wear to much, and crews can change their pit stragety around tires that wear more. The drivers are happy that way and the racing is a lot more fun to watch.

    Report as Abuse
  3. 3
    DOC VALDEZ said:
    Mar 10, 2008 at 5:30 AM

    The Atlanta race was one of the worse races to date for me. There was no real racing due to the tire issue at hand. It's a shame because Atlanta usually has great finishes and a lot of excitement. From what the drivers were talking about yesterday after the race, this will no longer happen if Goodyear keeps bringing in tires like they did for this race. Then, viewers will stop watching races and then what will happen to NASCAR.

    Report as Abuse
  4. 4
    Julie Seybert said:
    Mar 10, 2008 at 6:16 AM

    lets just hope that tony and junior do not get penelized somehow for voicing their opinions! the race was not a race due to the tire issue....something has to change !

    Report as Abuse
  5. 5
    Jim Teats said:
    Mar 10, 2008 at 9:55 AM

    Notice the drivers that can drive a race car aren't cmplaining about the tire, in the old days when they raced bais tires the drivers didn't complain they just raced.

    Report as Abuse
  6. 6
    said:
    Mar 10, 2008 at 1:26 PM

    Nascar Goodyear Kickback Cup

    Report as Abuse
  7. 7
    Jimmy Graves said:
    Mar 10, 2008 at 4:57 PM

    I would like to see Goodyear go back to bias ply tires. I believe that they would be a safer tire in the long run. Due to the fact that you could control your own stagger without going to real low air pressures. They also possibly would scrub off more speed during a spin thus decreasing the impact with the wall(Jeff Gordon at Vegas). If any of you old "core" race fans think back. You will remember that the racing was far better in the '80's with the bias ply tire.Plus, there were less injuries to the drivers. The radials came into being to fend off Hoosier in the first place.I think NA$CAR has an agreement with Goodyear to be the sole supplier of tires,so that is not a concern anymore. I guess I just may be biased.

    Report as Abuse
  8. 8
    Jeff said:
    Mar 11, 2008 at 12:13 AM

    As far as I could see, every car out there was sideways coming off the corner all day. I think that just shows how good all of the NASCAR drivers really are. We all have our favorites, and sometime we all say "that guy can't drive!" but I think at Atlanta they all proved they can. Everybody sideways all day and very few wrecks. Good job guys, all of you!

    Report as Abuse
  9. 9
    Evelyn Dehline said:
    Mar 11, 2008 at 12:18 AM

    I cannot imagine GoodYear saying this is the best they can provide,and the best you are going to get when the drivers cannot pass one another--all in all I think everyone was lucky to have escaped with no major incidents,I don't think I have ever seen such exhaustion from "wrestling" their cars continually.Bravo to Tony Stewart for saying what everyone knew.

    Report as Abuse
  10. 10
    Susan Berna said:
    Mar 11, 2008 at 4:47 AM

    This wasn't a safe race for our drivers! No amount of money is enough for our drivers to get into a car that they feel is not the safest possible car at the time. We watched a boring race! The drivers made it clear it was a hard race for them to drive because of the tires! Their hands and arms were sore, the cars were sliding, and no one wanted to be near another car! They felt UNSAFE. The drivers are telling us what the problem is - - - fix it or we won't have a driver behind the wheel. They'll refuse and they'll be right too.

    Report as Abuse
  11. 11
    scott pierson said:
    Mar 11, 2008 at 7:52 PM

    Boy, these comments are sure edited!

    Report as Abuse
  12. 12
    Denim Macster said:
    Mar 12, 2008 at 5:11 PM

    http://www.hoosiertire.com/ READ

    Report as Abuse
  13. 13
    Denim Macster said:
    Mar 12, 2008 at 5:12 PM

    http://www.hoosiertire.com/ You might want to read this

    Report as Abuse
  14. 14
    Gladys Bedwell said:
    Mar 12, 2008 at 5:15 PM

    I love it when Tony Stewart tells it like it is. If you like honesty - listen to Tony. This is not the first time Tony has butted heads with Goodyear. Maybe Goodyear needs to listen to Tony. How about hiring new blood that will think outside the box.

    Report as Abuse
  15. 15
    Denim Macster said:
    Mar 12, 2008 at 5:19 PM

    Yep 50 years ago we got all the parts and tires out of a junk yard. Cant do that today . Everything is high tech. And that includes the tires. But if the manufactor of race car tires thinks they know more about how to make racing tires than proffesional race car drivers thats when the problems start.Listen to the drivers and react wisely.

    Report as Abuse
  16. 16
    FRANK LAVACCA said:
    Mar 13, 2008 at 1:31 AM

    how about some tire competition.i bet hoozer tires can make a tire the guys would be happy with.

    Report as Abuse
  17. 17
    Lee Pflug said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    I'd bet even Dave Marcus would have complained about the Goodyear product this time! (For you young fans, Marcus was a BIG backer of Goodyear) It's time for more drivers to stand up to Goodyear. OH NASCAR will get all upset but it's about time something is done. I'm totally with Stewart & Earnhardt.

    Report as Abuse
  18. 18
    David Daffron said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    Goodyear keeps saying they want to bring the safest tire to each track, but how can they say they are the safest tires when the drivers cant race side by side and almost spin out coming of corners! That doesnt sound safe to me. I under stand they need a happy medium between wear and handeling but i think they should have a tire that wears more and handles better. Nascar always gives manditory cautions to inspect tires that wear to much, and crews can change their pit stragety around tires that wear more. The drivers are happy that way and the racing is a lot more fun to watch.

    Report as Abuse
  19. 19
    DOC VALDEZ said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    The Atlanta race was one of the worse races to date for me. There was no real racing due to the tire issue at hand. It's a shame because Atlanta usually has great finishes and a lot of excitement. From what the drivers were talking about yesterday after the race, this will no longer happen if Goodyear keeps bringing in tires like they did for this race. Then, viewers will stop watching races and then what will happen to NASCAR.

    Report as Abuse
  20. 20
    Julie Seybert said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    lets just hope that tony and junior do not get penelized somehow for voicing their opinions! the race was not a race due to the tire issue....something has to change !

    Report as Abuse
  21. 21
    Jim Teats said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    Notice the drivers that can drive a race car aren't cmplaining about the tire, in the old days when they raced bais tires the drivers didn't complain they just raced.

    Report as Abuse
  22. 22
    said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    Nascar Goodyear Kickback Cup

    Report as Abuse
  23. 23
    Jimmy Graves said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    I would like to see Goodyear go back to bias ply tires. I believe that they would be a safer tire in the long run. Due to the fact that you could control your own stagger without going to real low air pressures. They also possibly would scrub off more speed during a spin thus decreasing the impact with the wall(Jeff Gordon at Vegas). If any of you old "core" race fans think back. You will remember that the racing was far better in the '80's with the bias ply tire.Plus, there were less injuries to the drivers. The radials came into being to fend off Hoosier in the first place.I think NA$CAR has an agreement with Goodyear to be the sole supplier of tires,so that is not a concern anymore. I guess I just may be biased.

    Report as Abuse
  24. 24
    Jeff said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    As far as I could see, every car out there was sideways coming off the corner all day. I think that just shows how good all of the NASCAR drivers really are. We all have our favorites, and sometime we all say "that guy can't drive!" but I think at Atlanta they all proved they can. Everybody sideways all day and very few wrecks. Good job guys, all of you!

    Report as Abuse
  25. 25
    Evelyn Dehline said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    I cannot imagine GoodYear saying this is the best they can provide,and the best you are going to get when the drivers cannot pass one another--all in all I think everyone was lucky to have escaped with no major incidents,I don't think I have ever seen such exhaustion from "wrestling" their cars continually.Bravo to Tony Stewart for saying what everyone knew.

    Report as Abuse
  26. 26
    Susan Berna said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    This wasn't a safe race for our drivers! No amount of money is enough for our drivers to get into a car that they feel is not the safest possible car at the time. We watched a boring race! The drivers made it clear it was a hard race for them to drive because of the tires! Their hands and arms were sore, the cars were sliding, and no one wanted to be near another car! They felt UNSAFE. The drivers are telling us what the problem is - - - fix it or we won't have a driver behind the wheel. They'll refuse and they'll be right too.

    Report as Abuse
  27. 27
    scott pierson said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    Boy, these comments are sure edited!

    Report as Abuse
  28. 28
    Denim Macster said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    http://www.hoosiertire.com/ READ

    Report as Abuse
  29. 29
    Denim Macster said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    http://www.hoosiertire.com/ You might want to read this

    Report as Abuse
  30. 30
    Gladys Bedwell said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    I love it when Tony Stewart tells it like it is. If you like honesty - listen to Tony. This is not the first time Tony has butted heads with Goodyear. Maybe Goodyear needs to listen to Tony. How about hiring new blood that will think outside the box.

    Report as Abuse
  31. 31
    Denim Macster said:
    Mar 17, 2008 at 7:17 PM

    Yep 50 years ago we got all the parts and tires out of a junk yard. Cant do that today . Everything is high tech. And that includes the tires. But if the manufactor of race car tires thinks they know more about how to make racing tires than proffesional race car drivers thats when the problems start.Listen to the drivers and react wisely.

    Report as Abuse