AMANDA’S ARTICLES
By: Amanda Vincent

To say that there was a tire debacle during the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard would be a gross understatement. It was so bad that NASCAR felt the need to issue a public apology to fans for it.

With the unknown factor of the car of tomorrow running at the Brickyard for the first time last year, goodyear obviously dropped the ball during 2008 Indy testing. During the actual race, tire wear was so bad that NASCAR was throwing competition cautions right and left, usually only 10 to 12 laps apart.

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has taken extra care this year to prevent a repeat of the 2008 Indy race.

“The last two tests, Goodyear really honed in on different constructions, different tire compounds and things that would add life to the tire but also add a lot of grip,” NASCAR Vice-President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. “It’s tough to get both and I think they’ve done a great job in doing just that. It’s amazing to see what’s been accomplished in the last 10 months or so.

Since the 2008 race, 30 teams have combined to run more than 13,000 miles at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to ensure that tires will hold up this time around.

“I think there was a lot to it because it seemed like a pretty tough process,” Kasey Kahne said. “I must have tested six or seven times there since last year’s race. The teams have put a ton of time testing up there and I feel like the tire is as good as anything that I’ve been on up there.”

The last of those testing laps were completed June 16.

“I’m very confident in the tires,” Jeff Gordon said. “I did the last test there and was very pleased.”

Because of such extensive testing for the 2009 race, most drivers seem to feel confident that the disaster of a year ago won’t be repeated.

“I think they’ve come back with a combination that not only is durable, but also made it where it should be better racing at that time, too,” Tony Stewart said.

Stewart also credited the attention to detail Goodyear has put into this new tire for the improvement. He saw that attention on a recent visit to Goodyear’s headquarters in Akron, Ohio.

“It’s a process that makes you shake your head because you just don’t realize what goes into making a tire,” Stewart said. “And the good thing is it’s not done by a machine, it’s done by a physical person that actually puts that tire together. There’s a lot of machines that assist in that process, but some of the key components are still done by a Goodyear engineer that sits there and makes sure it’s as perfect as it can be.”

The real test to see whether or not Goodyear has corrected the tire issues from a year ago will be at 2 pm ET Sunday, as the Sprint Cup Series races for the 16th time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It’s gonna be an awesome race,” Kahne said.

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Amanda attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, where she majored in journalism and minored in writing. Still based in Bowling Green, she is a freelance NASCAR writer. She has previously worked at both weekly and daily newspapers in Kentucky and has written for such magazines as Kentucky Living and Speedway Illustrated. Email Amanda | Twitter