A Tire, A Tire, My Kingdom for a Tire!!!

One week away from the first anniversary of the tire debacle at Indy, Katie revisits some old blogs on tire issues.



NASCAR SOLVES TIRE PROBLEMS

(originally posted 7/28/08 on FOXSports.com)

NASCAR ORDERS SWEEPING CHANGES FOLLOWING ALLSTATE 400 TRAVESTY
CAR, TIRES TO UNDERGO MASSIVE OVERHAUL

Charlotte- Following Sunday's dismal race at Indianapolis, NASCAR Director of Competition Robin Pemberton announced today that NASCAR will be making major changes to the Sprint Cup Series.

"To say that this was an embarrassment to NASCAR is an understatement," Pemberton told reporters. "We want to make absolutely sure that nothing like this ever happens again."

In the first of two measures to prevent a repeat of the Brickyard events, NASCAR terminated its contract with Goodyear Tire & Rubber, who until now, held the exclusive rights as NASCAR's tire supplier.

In the second measure, Pemberton announced that NASCAR will be scrapping the controversial COT effective immediately. In unveiling the new car, which will make its debut this weekend at Pocono, Pemberton said that NASCAR wanted to return to a simpler, more basic car.

In a prepared statement, NASCAR chairman Brian France said "This car should meet with approval from NASCAR fans. It puts the outcome of the race back in the hands of the drivers."



Or maybe in this case, feet.



Evidently, Goodyear didn't get the message since tires once again became an issue at Daytona in February.



Same Song. Second Verse

(originally posted 2/14/09 on FOXSports.com)



Katie discovered this news item while leafing through a copy of a pet product magazine.
NASCAR TO PUT AN END TO TIRE ISSUES ONCE AND FOR ALL
NEW MANUFACTURER PROMISES TIRE THAT WILL LAST AN ENTIRE RACE


Daytona Beach- Following several tire failures involving high profile drivers- including Tony Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman- plus the recall of several race tires by Goodyear, NASCAR officials announced a major change in their tire supplier.


"We don't want to start the season off like this," NASCAR Director of Competition Robin Pemberton told reporters during an impromtu question and answer session following Saturday's Nationwide race at Daytona International Speedway. "We're not - repeat NOT- going to have another Brickyard on our hands," he said emphatically. Pemberton was referring to the 2008 Sprint Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was marred by tire issues so severe that caution flags flew every 30 laps to assess tire wear.


To that end, NASCAR President Mike Helton announced that effective immediately, all tires used in NASCAR sanctioned races will be manufactured by the Kong Company. "Anyone with a dog is familiar with the Kong pet toy," Helton told the media. "The things are virtually indestructible. We feel certain that the new Kong tires can withstand all the stresses associated with racing and that our tire problems are a thing of the past."







Goodyear has had several tire tests at Indy since the debacle a year ago. The drivers have all walked away from those testing sessions saying that Goodyear has made significant improvement in the tire over last year, and they are confident that there will not be a repeat of last year's race. We'll find out in a week.