Several Sprint Cup drivers battled tire issues Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, causing some cars to catch fire from the burning rubber. Among the drivers who had problems were #48-Jimmie Johnson, #99-Carl Edwards, #15-Clint Bowyer, #41- Busch, #17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr and #36-Reed Sorenson. Goodyear brought a new tire combination to Richmond, with its new multi-zone tire on the right side. The outward 10 inches of the right-side tire had the same compound as last year but the inside two inches of tread surface was designed for more endurance, with a tougher, more heat-resistant compound. It appeared the inside few inches of the tires were unraveling, causing the areas around the brakes and wheels to catch fire when rubber became entangled with wheel and suspension parts.
‘There are a number of cars that don’t have any issues at all and they have got a good balanced car and everything is fine,’ Goodyear Racing executive Stu Grant told Motor Racing Network during its race broadcast. ‘But what we’re seeing is the inside shoulder of the right front is wearing through the tread and through the overlay. It’s important to have a good balanced car, it’s important to not have a lot of camber, and it’s important to try to stay off that right front. But having said that, it looks like the operating window is pretty narrow for these guys. If they miss it by a little bit, you’re going to get into that right front and we’re going to have to work on that.’ Goodyear most likely will conduct a tire test and bring a new tire for the Richmond race next September, a pivotal event as the final race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.
‘The tire was adjusted properly on many of the cars, and I think some of them took it overboard,’ NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. ‘Goodyear being a good partner, they’ll get together and if it’s something we need to re-do before we get back in here in the fall, I’m sure Goodyear is more than happy to test and build another tire.’(Sporting News)(4-27-2014)
