Brickyard 400 Troubles?

[Lee Roy]

Looks like the B/Y 400 tire issues still aren't solved yet.

http://thescore.ibj.com/blogshell.asp?p=983


Last year, the race was yellow flagged every nine laps to avoid tire blowouts, in what many called the worst NASCAR race of the year. NASCAR officials told IBJ the problem is not completely solved. Recent tire tests showed the Goodyear tires might last 15 to 25 laps depending on the weather.

Twenty five laps is optimistic. One NASCAR insider said “one good rain” shortly before the race could wash all the rubber out of the racing groove and cause big problems with the race yet again. There is one more tire test scheduled before this year’s Brickyard 400, where Goodyear will continue to wrestle with the rubber compound mix.

[harvick#1]

I say let the teams run and pit when necessary, if they try that yellow flag crap again then they will lose mostly its entire audience.

this is a race, the drivers will have to learn when they are at the edge and pit, I think it would be a very interesting race if Nascar doesn't take the ball into their own hands and just let them race

[Lee Roy]

I say let the teams run and pit when necessary, if they try that yellow flag crap again then they will lose mostly its entire audience.

this is a race, the drivers will have to learn when they are at the edge and pit, I think it would be a very interesting race if Nascar doesn't take the ball into their own hands and just let them race


They'll still have the yellows, but they will be for cars wadded up in the fence. They'll still lose their audience.

[e2mtt]

They'll still have the yellows, but they will be for cars wadded up in the fence. They'll still lose their audience.

You are forgetting how much the audience enjoys crashes!


I say let the teams run and pit when necessary, if they try that yellow flag crap again then they will lose mostly its entire audience.

this is a race, the drivers will have to learn when they are at the edge and pit, I think it would be a very interesting race if Nascar doesn't take the ball into their own hands and just let them race.

I agree.

[Lee Roy]

You are forgetting how much the audience enjoys crashes!


You're right, it is in Indianapolis.

[oldhippie]

let them race and when someone blows a tire and hits the wall - viola caution
the brickyard wont need any phony debri cautions to keep everybody close together
blowed out tires will cause plenty of cautions to bunch the cars and satisfy nascars goal of a tight field
teams will need to bring a truckload of extra sheet metal if they hope to finish the race
thanks to goodyear and their lack of technology to make a good racing tire for indy :p

[Sparky1329]

Oh great. I see another Brickyard Wreckfest in our future.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I think the new car has created this issue at Indy because of its higher CG. We didn't have this issue with the old car. Not sure what the solution is, but if Goodyear cannot get a tire to run there, than I suspect they may not keep the job as NASCAR tire supplier in the long run. I cannot and refuse to believe a tire cannot be designed to hold up to Indy.

I just know that if they do the 10 lap sprint followed by cautions a test pattern will get better ratings. Goodyear I think will get it right....

[Lee Roy]

I think the new car has created this issue at Indy because of its higher CG. We didn't have this issue with the old car. Not sure what the solution is, but if Goodyear cannot get a tire to run there, than I suspect they may not keep the job as NASCAR tire supplier in the long run. I cannot and refuse to believe a tire cannot be designed to hold up to Indy.

I just know that if they do the 10 lap sprint followed by cautions a test pattern will get better ratings. Goodyear I think will get it right....

They could stop running Indy altogether.

[harvick#1]

let them race and when someone blows a tire and hits the wall - viola caution
the brickyard wont need any phony debri cautions to keep everybody close together
blowed out tires will cause plenty of cautions to bunch the cars and satisfy nascars goal of a tight field
teams will need to bring a truckload of extra sheet metal if they hope to finish the race
thanks to goodyear and their lack of technology to make a good racing tire for indy :p

or teams know this and have to pit on their own ;) "play it as it lies"

thats like saying they should have a 4 hour break every 8 hours in the 24 hours of Lemans to let the cars cool down.

its racing, and its racing the elements, so now instead of everyone driver 100% of the car everylap, they are gonna have to slow it down. this race could actually be very interesting as long as teams keeps very close of how the tires wear and Nascar not putting its nose into fake cautions

[DanicaFan]

I think NASCAR should get rid of Goodyear and go to Firestone.

IndyCar doesnt have all those tire problems with Firestone. They are an excellent tire.

[muggle not]

I think NASCAR should get rid of Goodyear and go to Firestone.

IndyCar doesnt have all those tire problems with Firestone. They are an excellent tire.
A bicycle could also run well at Indy. The track isn't made for the heavy Nascar cars. Especially the COT.

[RaceFanStan]

The COT is more like stockcars of the 50's & 60's, bulky & not aero dependent ...
it makes me wonder if the bias-ply race tires like they used in the 50's & 60's would stand up to Indy :?: :?: :?:

[Mark in Oshawa]

The COT is more like stockcars of the 50's & 60's, bulky & not aero dependent ...
it makes me wonder if the bias-ply race tires like they used in the 50's & 60's would stand up to Indy :?: :?: :?:


Well they wont go back to the Bias ply's I suspect. This issue is compound related, not construction.

AS for them not being Aero dependent, explain why then the leader in clean air always says the car's handling is better up front. They are not as bad for aeropush as the twisted sister, but clean air being a factor still speaks to aero issues.

As for the idea above someone mentioned that the Firestones don't have an issue, I would point out that Firestone has been going to Indy for years, the modern Dallara is an easy car to design tires for since the tires are bigger and the car is a lot smaller and lower. The COT design is to make driving more driver dependent, and a side effect of this is the higher center of gravity that was mandated to give the car a harder and more twitchy nature. The downside is the tires are small compared to the weight and height of the car, and I think the techology of race tires is being pushed to the limit with this car at a flat fast track like Indy. You toss in the fact TG had the joint diamond ground, and it is like the old Darlington with higher speeds, less banking. IT is the worst possible scenario for a race tire on a car like this. I think Goodyear will give it a good shot, they have put the effort in this year, but I think unless the COT is given bigger tires with more tread, I really think the problem is unsolvable under the current rules.

I am not a tire engineer, but from what I have read and heard about last years debacle and the efforts being made this year, it has come down to the reality that no tire that size has been asked to do what this race tire is being asked to do. It may be unsolvable....

[RaceFanStan]

Maybe scrapping the outdated 15 inch wheels & tires would be a good idea ...
I think 17 inch wheels with lower sidewall tires could be a better solution.

(15 tires have a lot of sidewall flexing, low profile 17 inch tires could reduce that greatly.)

[call_me_andrew]

I think the new car has created this issue at Indy because of its higher CG. We didn't have this issue with the old car.

Actually, the old car did have this problem. But the old car would rubber in the track after a few practice sessions. After the track was last paved in 2005 it was diamand ground to remove all bumps. Diamand grinding left the track abrasive. IndyCars have had some issues with marbles. My softer rubber idea didn't appear to work so well. I think the best solution would be to apply a sealer to the track.

[Mark in Oshawa]

After the last Goodyear test, they had 11 cars there and they were running up to 30 laps plus. I guess they figured out the puzzle....