Tires, tires, tires.
Goodyear and the tire situation are the main talk at Bristol Motor Speedway right now.
Tony Stewart’s comments following last week’s race in Atlanta created a storm, and seemingly every driver who spoke with the media on Friday morning was forced to answer tire questions.
How valid are the questions?
Based off the drivers’ diverse answers, very valid.
The general consensus is that Goodyear was backed into a corner. They had to address a situation, made a decision, and the decision was obviously met with mixed results.
Yet not every driver shares Stewart’s no-nonsense opinions.
Most of the drivers who spoke on the issue stressed that safety was the key, and that a medium ground was to be found somewhere between the tires that were used at the Daytona 500 and last week’s debacle in Atlanta.
Kurt Busch provided substantial insight. Busch turned a question on the state of the Car of Tomorrow into a referendum on Goodyear and its tires.
“You’re turning the wheel harder, you’ve got all this camber built in, it’s a heavier car – it’s a recipe for tire issues,” Busch said.
“Goodyear has to react. The CEO can’t get these phone calls from moms and pops watching NASCAR races, going, ‘Why are these tires blowing out? I have Goodyears on my SUV that I bought. Why are NASCAR race tires blowing out?’ So they have to react. NASCAR and Goodyear came back with a harder tire for Atlanta. Yes, was it a bit too far? I’m sure it was. Is there a compromise to find a middle ground? I’m sure this. Now, that’s a problem for them. The racing action. We want to see the action, we want to see the safety, and we want to see the fans go home and say, ‘I bought a ticket in Atlanta, Bristol, wherever, and it was a great race.’ And so, they’re doing the jobs that they can, and they’re giving us the best tires that they possible can to put on a good show, as well as not put the heat on themselves when there’s tire blowouts.”