DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 16, 2009) – Goodyear concluded its tire testing for next month’s (July 26) running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Tuesday, and the consensus among the drivers is: Mission accomplished.
Since last year’s event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Goodyear has conducted seven tests at IMS, totaling more than 13,000 miles of on-track laps, featuring more than 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. That’s the equivalent of each driver who participated in the tests running more than 400 miles on the 2.5-mile track. Jeff Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and four-time winner of the 400, gave the recommended tire a resounding thumbs-up Tuesday morning during a press conference at the track.
“Goodyear has done an excellent job and they obviously deserve a lot of credit for all of the hard work, effort, time, and money that’s been spent to get it right, but obviously a lot of teams have contributed, to put in a lot of laps to get it where it is today,” said Gordon.
“I’m 100% confident in this tire. I ran this tire as hard as I could; put numerous laps on it. It’s (tire situation) a dead issue. This is going to be a great race here next month. I can promise all the fans out there that if they want to come to the Brickyard and see a great race and be confident that the tires are not going to be an issue, they can trust me. Goodyear has got it resolved for sure.”
Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear, said there was a commitment from their entire organization to ensure the tire was right for this year’s race.
“When we left Indianapolis last year, there was one thing we were very clear about – we were going to get it right,” said Stucker. “We are very confident that we have done exactly that. It’s been a very deliberate process over the last 11 months. It has involved not only the Goodyear racing division but really the entire corporation. A lot of people have been involved doing a lot of different things in order to make sure we have a good recommendation for this year’s race.”
Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, participated in the majority of the Goodyear tire tests at Indianapolis and says next month’s race “should be great because the tire is better than it’s ever been.”
“I think I’ve been to every one of these tests,” said Busch, “and we unloaded on Monday and right off the bat, we ran 30 laps and the tires were just fine.”
NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton applauded Goodyear on its efforts.
“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,” said Pemberton. “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. There will be a lot of good information that comes out of these tests that we will be able to take to other race tracks, such as different compounds and constructions. Things that will help the grip and help make the racing better all the way around.”
Since last year’s event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Goodyear has conducted seven tests at IMS, totaling more than 13,000 miles of on-track laps, featuring more than 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. That’s the equivalent of each driver who participated in the tests running more than 400 miles on the 2.5-mile track. Jeff Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and four-time winner of the 400, gave the recommended tire a resounding thumbs-up Tuesday morning during a press conference at the track.
“Goodyear has done an excellent job and they obviously deserve a lot of credit for all of the hard work, effort, time, and money that’s been spent to get it right, but obviously a lot of teams have contributed, to put in a lot of laps to get it where it is today,” said Gordon.
“I’m 100% confident in this tire. I ran this tire as hard as I could; put numerous laps on it. It’s (tire situation) a dead issue. This is going to be a great race here next month. I can promise all the fans out there that if they want to come to the Brickyard and see a great race and be confident that the tires are not going to be an issue, they can trust me. Goodyear has got it resolved for sure.”
Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear, said there was a commitment from their entire organization to ensure the tire was right for this year’s race.
“When we left Indianapolis last year, there was one thing we were very clear about – we were going to get it right,” said Stucker. “We are very confident that we have done exactly that. It’s been a very deliberate process over the last 11 months. It has involved not only the Goodyear racing division but really the entire corporation. A lot of people have been involved doing a lot of different things in order to make sure we have a good recommendation for this year’s race.”
Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, participated in the majority of the Goodyear tire tests at Indianapolis and says next month’s race “should be great because the tire is better than it’s ever been.”
“I think I’ve been to every one of these tests,” said Busch, “and we unloaded on Monday and right off the bat, we ran 30 laps and the tires were just fine.”
NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton applauded Goodyear on its efforts.
“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,” said Pemberton. “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. There will be a lot of good information that comes out of these tests that we will be able to take to other race tracks, such as different compounds and constructions. Things that will help the grip and help make the racing better all the way around.”