Some would say that it’s been a trying season for Goodyear in 2008 as they continue to work on developing new tires to coincide with NASCAR’s latest project, the Car of Tomorrow. Things got heated early in the season between Goodyear’s racing group and some of the drivers in the garage area, particularly after Atlanta when several of the drivers bashed the tire in public forums. You might recall one man inparticular’s rants regarding the tires as they made headlines for several weeks. Yes, I’m referring of course to Tony Stewart.

It seemed as though things had finally cooled off between all parties involved until just a couple of weeks ago at Indianapolis. It was the first time NASCAR had ever taken the COT to Indy, and the tires that Goodyear brought to the track were inadequate to say the least. The end result was NASCAR waiving a competition caution about every 10 laps and the reviews for the event were terrible.

After a week long of apologies from both NASCAR and Goodyear, both parties were presented with a golden opportunity to redeem themselves during the Nationwide race in Montreal. With bad weather on the horizon, NASCAR decided to break out their inventory of “grooved” Goodyear tires, marking the first time grooved tires had ever been run in a NASCAR points race. The experiment was a tremendous success, and talk about the Indy tire fiasco has been slim to none ever since.

This week, the “Loose in Turn 3″ trio will take a look at the situation and decide the overwhelming success of the rain tires and a solid week at Pocono does in fact take Goodyear off the hook, or if they feel that there are still too many unanswered questions to make that call just yet.

Q: Did Goodyear finally clear their name in NASCAR with the success of their rain tires in Montreal?

TZ: They’re not completely out of the woods just yet, but for the most part, I would say yes. I was pretty upset with the fiasco that took place at Indy, and there’ve been a few other times this season I wasn’t thrilled with their output, but running in the rain at Motreal without any tire issues was a huge plus, and then they were able to follow it up with a successful day in Pocono as well. There are obviously a few tracks that they still need to get some things figured out, but all in all, they’ve rebounded quite nicely.

Bruce:  I’d expect more from a division of a tire company that is supposed to be making racing tires and not rubber confetti at Indianapolis.  Indy was a phenomenal waste of time and they should have tried something else rather than let NASCAR dole out a series of 10-lap trophy dashes, but without the trophy.  I don’t see this weekend as a rebound as much as it is, a “It’s about time they got it back on track.  Now let’s keep it there!”

Charlie:  Goodyear didn’t need to “clear their name”. In fact, NASCAR once
again put Goodyear’s good name at risk by using six year old rubber in a
featured race. They lucked out that the tires didn’t fail. NASCAR flipped
a coin again, just as they did at Indy. Goodyear makes tens of thousands
of race tires that are used at hundreds of races every week. A couple of
high profile failures should be expected when the company is trying to
make a NASCAR work in progress – the vaunted CoT – look better than it is.

the Rest of the Discussion:
There’s still plenty more to read this week from the “Loose in Turn 3″ guys. Make sure you take a trip over to On Pit Row where Charlie asks the question, “Who is the Best Crew Chief in the Sprint Cup Garage Right Now?“, and then head over to Bruce’s NASCAR Bits ‘n’ Pieces where we debate the motive behind Martin Truex Jr.’s Decision to Remain at DEI.

Post from: EveryJoe

Goodyear Was Starting to Get Loose in Turn 3 … But, They’re Straight Now

For those of you that had the misguided pleasure of watching this past weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, chances are that you were extremely disappointed with the product that NASCAR and Goodyear brought to the table … and, the drivers and their crews were no different. Perhaps the closed door meeting from NASCAR a couple months back asking the drivers to keep the verbal car bashing to a minimum may have warded off some of the overly eccentric tyrades similar to what we heard from Tony Stewart when he bashed Goodyear following the Atlanta race, but nonetheless, many of the Sprint Cup Series’ top faces expressed disappointment in the finished product following the Allstate 400.

Here are some of the quotes from the teams concerning Goodyear’s tire package that they brought to Indy:

Matt Kenseth: “This is one of the two biggest races of the year and to never have this tire here before and not come and do an open test and to work on these things and work on these tires, it’s pretty darn disappointing. We had a great car. I feel bad for the fans. We’re running three-quarters speed because we’re worried of the tires blowing out and they blow out every eight laps.”

Ryan Newman: “It was a ridiculous race. There was no racing involved, other than mandatory cautions. It’s disrespectful to the fans. That’s not the way NASCAR racing is supposed to be.”

Jeff Gordon: “It’s embarrassing and disappointing. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’m really sorry that it happened in such a big race like the Brickyard.”

Jamie McMurray: “I got really mad in the middle because they were letting us run until the tires were blowing up, and I’m like, ‘You can’t put us in that situation.’ You’ve got to throw the caution before we blow a tire because if someone gets hurt, we could have prevented that.”

Brian Vickers: “The problem is not one thing. We’ve seen all year long that this car is a lot worse on tires. I think everybody has to raise their hand and take some responsibility here. We have to really think about where we’re going and how we’re going to do it.”

Chad Knaus: “There are really only five things that keep a car on a racetrack. That’s four tires and downforce. Everybody has to realize that this car has about 50 percent of the downforce we had in the past.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr: “That’s the most bizarre race I’ve ever run. I was just glad we got through it with no real chaos. I’m ashamed, but there wasn’t much we could do.”

*Earnhardt also participated in a 3-driver testing session at Indy back in April to test various tire packages, to which he stated, “When I tested here they were wearing out (after) five laps, too.”

Carl Edwards: “I knew when there wasn’t any rubber laying down on the track — I couldn’t see any rubber on the track — I thought we were in trouble there. I know everybody was hoping that it would get better by Lap 30 or 40, but I knew we were in trouble then.”

Anonymous Tire Specialist: “The rubber coming off the tire was too fine. It was like sugar. That’s why the track never rubbered up. The whole back of the tire was dust. And everyone could see the fans leaving by Lap 100. It was the most disgusting display I’ve ever seen at a racetrack. The fans that come back deserve half-price tickets.”

Don’t let the criticism misguide you, though. While everyone throughout the garage area was disappointed with what took place at Indy, most everyone applauded the reactionary methods that NASCAR took to keep the race safe and err on the side of caution – literally.

Jeff Burton: “Early in the race we were running three-quarter speed. Late in the race, we ran hard and we had faith in NASCAR to throw the caution. NASCAR did a great job today under adverse situations. I don’t know what they could have done better. I know that NASCAR and Goodyear are going to take a lot of heat for this but you have to also look at the other side of it. There was no evidence that the situation was getting better during practice so NASCAR did the right thing and did a really good job of throwing the cautions. They responded to a problem and I give them credit for that.”

Bobby LaBonte: “It was a wild race out there, without a doubt. You had to pick when you wanted to race hard to pass someone and the rest of the time you just had to bide your time to save your tires. We knew this would be the case going in and NASCAR did a great job with what they had. My car was actually handling pretty good. It was just a little loose, but I was happy with the balance. My pit crew has to get a lot of credit today. This was the most consistently fast day we’ve had all year on pit road. They picked up a lot of positions for me.”

And, of course, as one might expect, Greg Stucker – Goodyear Director of Race Tire Sales – and Robin Pemberton – NASCAR’s Director of Competition – both had their hands full following the race.

Greg Stucker: “Obviously, the tread wear didn’t improve as we thought it would over the course of the afternoon. We don’t have the answer as to why that didn’t happen, so we’ve got to go back and look at that and try to figure out how to make it better. This is the same compound we raced last year and the wear improved over the course of the day to the point where we could run the full stops. That didn’t happen today, so we need to understand why. I don’t think anyone likes to race like this — us included. We’re going to try to figure out what we need to do to make it better, so that’s what we’re here for.”

Robin Pemberton: “I can’t say enough how sorry we are, and it’s our responsibility, being NASCAR, that we don’t go through this situation again. We’ve already got after it, and we’re moving forward with a plan to get ahead of the situation so we don’t go through this again. Once again, I think that it deserves to be said that the race didn’t come off like we had hoped. The fans didn’t get what they exactly wanted, and we’ll do everything in our power, and it won’t happen again, I can tell you that much. We’re going to put a lot of effort toward it and get a better plan moving forward.”

Video of the interviews with Robin Pemberton and Carl Edwards following the race:

Post from: EveryJoe

As Expected, Drivers Disappointed With Goodyear Tires at Indy

Coming off the heels of a very disappointing race this weekend at Indianapolis, it got me thinking of what some of the biggest factors can be to ruining a race for us – the fans. Of course, we’re always unhappy when our driver finishes outside of the top-ten, or even worse, when the driver that we adamently root against wins the race … but, I’m thinking of things beyond that. I’m talking about the actual elements that help give the race a lackluster feel to it. Here goes …

5. Multiple Cautions for Debris – These are obviously a part of racing that is more often than not well out of the control of NASCAR or anyone else. You get one or two of these, fine, no biggie – let’s move on. But, when you start getting 3, 4, or even 5 of these things, then you’re just left with an unwanted lull in the action.

4. Red Flags – I don’t really care what it’s for. Whether it’s for rain, a huge wreck, or a portion of the track coming unsurfaced, an extended period under red can take the wind right out of the race’s sails.

3. Rain – There’s obviously nothing you can do to ward it off, but when Mother Nature strikes the NASCAR track, she pretty much dictates the entire event. Teams have to start working different strategies based on when they thing the rain will come, and if it does, all too often we’re left with a guy standing in Victory Lane that really didn’t deserve it.

2. Over-Abundance of Commercial Breaks – We all know that the networks make the bulk of their money off advertising, and personally, I’m okay with that. But, at some point you’ve just got to draw the line. Take this past weekend for example. ESPN knew that NASCAR was going to continually run their competition caution periods, and even if they didn’t, there were going to be enough tire issues to fill the caution quota anyway. But, as if 11 caution periods weren’t enough to get in all the advertising they could hope for, the network still decided to cut to commercial at least once during every green flag run. I wasn’t counting, but I’d imagine that there were AT LEAST 20 commercial breaks … in  a 160 lap race. Do the math.

1. Bringing the Wrong Tire Package – This past weekend at Indy was obviously about as bad as it could possibly get, and kudos to NASCAR for doing their best to work around Goodyear’s blunder. But, even when it’s not the absolute worst, the wrong tire package can absolutely destroy a race. Whether it results in a race filled with competition cautions (Indy) or it results in multiple cars blowing tires for no real reason (Las Vegas) or it hinders on-the-track passing to the point of sheer boredom (Atlanta), the tires themselves play a major role in determining what the cars look like out there on the track.

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Elements that Can Ruin a Race

Image details: Coca-Cola 600 served by picapp.com

Utter heartbreak and sheer disappointment. That’s the best way to describe Kurt Busch’s career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ever since younger brother, Kyle, joined the circuit full-time for Hendrick Motorsports back in 2005 … well, I guess you could throw subtle envy into that equation as well. Since then, it just seems as though the seasons have been getting longer and tougher for the 2004 Cup Series champ.

Okay, so maybe it has less to do with Kyle and more to do with Kurt’s jump from Roush-Fenway Racing over to Penske Racing, but the numbers don’t lie, and the numbers indicate to us that there’s something amiss with the no. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team these days. In his first four full seasons of racing in NASCAR’s premier series, Kurt tallied a total of 11 wins, 34 top-five’s, and 61 top-ten’s and won Jack Roush’s second consecutive Cup for him. Since the beginning of 2005, however, those numbers have taken a severe hit, as he’s put together only 6 more wins, 23 top-five’s, and 45 top-ten’s, with his best points finish in that span coming during his 8th place run last year after having to put together a late-season rally just to make the cut for the Chase field.

To add a little salt to the wound, since Kyle’s emergence onto the Cup scene, he’s beaten big bro in every major statistical category with the exception of pole awards – only due to the 6 poles that Kurt won in his 2006 campaign – and, Kyle appears to be in major contention to win the title this year while Kurt lags back in 21st place in the points standings.

After finding some success with the addition of Pat Tryson as his crew chief late in the ‘07 season – a move that many people feel salvaged the year for the team – many people expected a big year from Kurt this season, but that hasn’t been the case by any means. He was able to finish runner-up to teammate, Ryan Newman, at the Daytona 500 and received many kudos from around the racing nation for the big push that he gave Ryan at the end of the race to push him across the finish line and secure the first restrictor plate win for car owner, Roger Penske.

Since then it’s been downhill, though. He went onto score top-15 finishes at Atlanta, Fontana, and Bristol, but finished outside of the top-20 in the five events that followed, as Kurt plummeted down the points standings. They put together a decent run at Darlington, where they finished 12th, and then they got the car out front last weekend in Charlotte and appeared to be the class of the field through the early portions of the race before that heartbreak and disappointment kicked back in.

After leading 64 laps in the race, Kurt was running second behind race leader, Brian Vickers, on lap 161 when a blown right tire sent him flying into the wall and ended his bid for the win. He was able to get his car back out on the track without losing any laps, but the damage was severe enough to halter any progress he attempted to make towards the front, and ultimately settled for a 16th place finish.

Now, with only 14 races remaining before NASCAR sets their Chase field with the top-12 drivers, Kurt finds himself all the way down in 21st – 668 points back from his brother and current points leader, Kyle Busch, and 262 points separating he and 12th place, Kasey Kahne. This is the furthest back in points that Kurt has ever been at this point in the season. The good news for Kurt Busch fans, though, is that his average finish in races 13 through 26 last year was 13.07 and consisted of 2 wins and 7 top-ten finishes.

Post from: EveryJoe

What’s A Brother Gotta Do To Get Some Love?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the class of the field early on, leading 58 of the first 59 laps after starting on the outside of the front row next to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. Busch took the lead away from Junior on lap 60 and proceeded to lead the next 90 laps of the race. Busch dominated the field during that field, putting all but 18 cars a lap down before losing the lead to Clint Bowyer on lap 151. Bowyer maintained control of the race through a round of green flag pit stops until the fourth caution of the day waived on lap 198 as a result of debris in Turn 4. With 121 laps left, Kyle Busch drove back to the front on the restart, but remained there for only another 25 laps.

Two more cautions waived during that period – both a result of Elliott Sadler spinning around, and with 86 laps left and 13 cars on the lead lap, Carl Edwards took the green flag on the restart and pulled away from the field. Edwards appeared to have the race well-in-hand until his car started smoking heavily as he continued to log laps. He was finally black flagged by NASCAR, and pulled his car to the garage with a broken transmission with only 50 laps remaining, surrendering the lead back over to Kyle Busch once again.

The 8th and final caution of the day came out shortly after when NASCAR spotted oil in Turn 3 from the Edwards incident, but Busch was able to maintain the lead throughout the stops and the restart. With ten laps remaining, Busch had about a 3 second lead and his only threat on the track appeared to be Greg Biffle, who had moved into second place and was briefly closing in on him. The threat was short-lived, however, as Biffle’s car began to fade about five laps later, giving up second back to Tony Stewart, and eventually third to Earnhardt Jr. As Busch came around to pick up the checkered flag, Biffle was able to maintain fourth position, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five.

The defending race winner and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson had his struggles throughout the day. Despite starting up in the 11th position, Johnson had fallen off of the lead lap with 138 to go. He regained his lap by being the recipient of the lucky dog award the second time Sadler spun, only to lose his lap again – and, regain it again – the third and final time Sadler spun with 64 to go. Johnson struggled his way to a 13th place finish. Matt Kenseth, on the other hand, had a reversal of fortunes by being able to turn around a potentially disastrous weekend. After changing transmissions Sunday morning before the race, Kenseth was forced to start the race in the back of the field way back in 42nd. He, too, went a lap down earlier in the day, but found himself back on the lead lap on lap 114 when Kasey Kahne spun his car around in the infield. He went onto finish in 8th.

The Dodge teams of Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman also experienced their share of heartbreak today. Kahne, who looked to be a race favorite early on and came into this weekend as the only driver to score top-ten’s in each of the first three events, lost his first lap due to a pit road miscue. He was running solidly in the top-ten when the first caution of the day came out on lap 38, but he wheel hopped the entrance to pit road and was forced to pit the second time around. This put him at the tail end of the field, and eventually a lap down after his car just wouldn’t get going. He lost his second lap when he spun on lap 114, and finally finished 3 laps down in 26th. Newman worked the track all day long and was finally able to crack the top-five with less than a hundred laps to go, only to make slight contact with Juan Pablo Montoya. The contact was enough to cause a fender rub on his left-front tire, forcing him to pit under green and putting him a lap down. He finished in 14th.

Also of note, Brian Vickers drove his Team Red Bull Toyota into a ninth place finish, giving him his first top-ten of the year and moving him up to ninth in points, giving Toyota three drivers in the top-ten. Their teammates in the no. 84 car made their first appearance in a Cup race this season after temporarily replacing AJ Allmendinger with Mike Skinner. Skinner qualified 34th and finished in 29th. Bobby LaBonte fell just shy of his first top-ten on the season, coming home in 12th and sits just 8 points shy of a spot in the Chase field, back in 14th.

Grades:
the Race:  70%
the Drama:  68%
Coverage:  87%
Pre-Race:  80%

Overall Grade: 74.0%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

Rating the Race: Kobalt Tool’s 500

Jimmy Johnson passed Tony Stewart with three laps to go (after Tony brushed the wall) to win the Kobalt Tools 500.

The 48 just would not be denied. It was awesome today.

A thumbs up to Jeff Burton for finishing 4th today after his win in the Busch series yesterday. This proves he really isn’t letting the logo controversy get to him. Way to go, Jeff!

Juan Montoya ran a good race too, finishing 5th. He kept his nose clean and out of trouble. Good job, Juan.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jimmy Johnson Wins the Kobalt Tools 500 in Atlanta

Michael Waltrip, on the other hand, has the added headache of being a car owner.  He, too, is a good driver but hasn’t made a Cup race since Daytona.  Is he letting the car owner ’stuff’ get in the way of driving?  Of course, there is the learning curve of getting a new team together, the new Toyota cars, and just being a team owner.  Don’t give up, Michael.  After a rough start, you’ll get it together.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Driver Jeff Burton Has What It Takes

Pole-sitter Ryan Newman will start at the rear of the pack tomorrow. Even though he qualified first, his crew decided that the engine was junk and replaced it. That is an automatic move to the end of the field.

In the not-so-surprising department, Michael Waltrip will miss the Kobalt Tools 500 for failure to qualify and Dale Jarrett is once again taking one of his champion’s provisionals to be in the race.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Breaking News from Atlanta

FRIDAY, March 16

American Commercial Lines 200 final practice – Craftsman Truck Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET Friday

Nicorette 300 final practice – Busch Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 2 p.m. ET Friday

NCTS Setup- Craftsman Truck Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET Friday; Re-airs 2 a.m. ET Saturday

American Commercial Lines 200 – Craftsman Truck Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 9 p.m. ET Friday; Re-airs 2:30 a.m. ET Saturday

SATURDAY, March 17

Nicorette 300 qualifying – Busch Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday

Kobalt Tools 500 Happy Hour – Nextel Cup Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 1 p.m. ET Saturday

NASCAR Countdown
Network: ABC
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday

Event: Nicorette 300 – Busch Series
Network: ABC
Time: 3 p.m. ET Saturday

Kobalt Tools 500 practice – Nextel Cup Series
Network: SPEED
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday
SUNDAY, March 18

NASCAR Performance
Network: SPEED
Time: 8 a.m. ET Sunday

NASCAR Now
Network: ESPN2
Time: 10 a.m. ET Sunday
(New shows air weekdays at 6:30 p.m. ET; Re-airs midnight ET)

Tradin’ Paint
Network: SPEED
Time: 11 a.m. ET Sunday

NASCAR RaceDay
Network: SPEED
Time: 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday

Hollywood Hotel
Network: FOX
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday

Kobalt Tools 500 – Nextel Cup Series
Network: FOX
Time: 2 p.m. ET Sunday
Green Flag: 2:25 p.m. ET Sunday

NASCAR Victory Lane
Atlanta Sun, Mar 18 8:00PM

As usual, all times are Eastern. Enjoy and check back for my comments and breaking news all weekend!

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Complete TV Schedule in Atlanta

NASCAR Live 12:00 Noon from Atlanta on Speed

Trackside from Atlanta at 6:00 PM on Speed

NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying from Atlanta 7:00 PM on Speed

NASCAR Truck Series from Atlanta at 9:00 on Speed

All times are EDT – Enjoy!

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR TV Schedule – Atlanta Motor Speedway