Goodyear’s Stu Grant, the veteran racing boss, says this week’s first on-track test of the proposed new 17-inch NASCAR racing tire-and-wheel, at Richmond International Raceway, was a success, and he is planning a second test in later this fall, probably at Phoenix International Raceway (where the Sprint Cup tour races Nov. 15, providing a good baseline). “We got it on the ground for the first time, and we plan to put it on a short track, like Phoenix, sometime later this year, before January 1st,” Grant said. “And then we will sit down with NASCAR and say ‘Okay, here we are looking at 2010.and how aggressive do we want to be with this thing?'” Grant said “We don’t have a firm timetable for implementation” of the new tire in NASCAR racing. “And obviously NASCAR is in step with us in this whole process.” But Grant made very clear the 17-inch tire concept was a decided plus for Goodyear. Paul Menard and Travis Kvapil tested the new, larger tires in Jack Roush Fords, against baseline runs on Goodyear’s current 15-inch NASCAR tires. “Travis said the 17-inch was very similar to the 15-inch from a handling standpoint,” Grant said. “Paul thought it was more forgiving and easier to drive; that you could get back in the throttle quicker. “The nice thing is it ran cooler. So with a bigger footprint on the ground, more rubber, that’s nice, because that gives us some room to play with, from a compound standpoint.” Another issue here is the larger tire requires some chassis changes to make the tire fit under the fenders — and keeping those changes to a minimum economically as well as technically may be the biggest challenge. Still, the key so far is that the test confirmed the theory that a larger tire would run cooler and offer more grip.(MikeMulhern.net)(10-9-2009)
UPDATE: Listen to Roush’s own reaction to the prospect of racing a new, larger tire: “There is no 17-inch tire coming.and you can quote me on that. It would be too expensive.it’s unnecessary There is maybe only one tire company in the world that could do that, as seen by me. And based on my conversations with NASCAR, I don’t think there is any 17-inch tire coming. The things that Goodyear is learning through the 17-inch-tire excusion, or experiment, is intended to benefit the tires we have today.” Yes, Roush confirms he is Goodyear’s lead in this program. “But there is no 17-inch tire in our future,” Roush insists.(Mike Mulhern.net)(10-10-2009)
