Some Sprint Cup teams are still reporting blistering of right-side tires after practice Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway. A full fuel run is 41-44 laps, and teams have shown signs of blistering before then. Blistering of tires during the Budweiser Shootout Saturday night affected cars that had about 33 laps on them, and not all of those were under green-flag conditions. “A lot of guys have made some progress and improvements and there are still a few guys still struggling, trying to find answers,” said Goodyear program manager Greg Stucker, who didn’t have an exact number of teams that had trouble with blistering Wednesday. “[The blistering] is a little less severe than what we saw during testing and than they were early in the week. People were trying different things with suspension and setups.” The cool temperatures Wednesday might have contributed to the blistering because speeds were faster than they would be on a hotter, slicker track. “It appears this car doesn’t fall off a lot,” Stucker said. “It’s consistent.”(SceneDaily.com)(2-14-2008) UPDATE: Teams are still battling tire issues as they head into the final few days of preparation for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Several drivers, including Patrick Carpentier, Regan Smith, Elliott Sadler, and Brian Vickers, had trouble with the tires in the 150-mile qualifying races Thursday. A full fuel run at Daytona International Speedway is about 41-44 laps, and the new NASCAR car runs with more weight on the right side. The teams that are having problems have them on the right fronts and the right rears. Goodyear’s Greg Stucker said that teams are adjusting to the new car and should be OK by Sunday. Rains on Wednesday cleaned the track and, if it remains dry the rest of the weekend, there will be much more rubber down on the track by Sunday, Stucker said. “Everybody is still learning the car a little bit and deciding what they needed to do tire-wise,” Stucker said. “It looks like more and more guys are getting it the more practice they get with time in the race car.” Stucker said he didn’t see a reason why NASCAR would need a competition caution to check tires for the Daytona 500.(SceneDaily.com)(2-15-2008)
