Right Front Wheel Fires at Richmond

Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed

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I don’t think I can remember another race where there were so many fires in right front tires and wheel wells. I was particularly surprised at how Bowyer’s right front end fire was handled on pit row. When he came into the pits, it was easy to see flames inside the right front wheel well. Still, the tire changer changed the right front tire while the flames continued and no one made an effort to extinguish them.

Unbelievably, the pit crew just continued with the pit stop as if everything were normal and when they were finally finished, they sent the 15 right back out on the track with the flames STILL BURNING in the right front wheel well! There was even an official standing right there watching it burn and even he made no attempt to keep Bowyer from going back on the track. I was surprised that both the pit crew and the official sent him back out in that condition.

Finally, a lap or two later, Bowyer had to come back to pit row while the flames in the front of his car were so intense it looked like the scene in Stephen King’s movie “Christine” where the old 1957 Plymouth “Christine” tears down the road with flames pouring out of her everywhere. The 15 was toast after that and was out of the race. It was one of the weirdest pit stops I’ve ever seen.

Also, I was surprised to see that Stenhouse was able to continue the race after his fire. I thought his front end looked every bit as fire damaged as Bowyer’s had been. I was amazed that after they put out the fire he was able to drive right back out on the track.
 
Tumbleweed said:
I don’t think I can remember another race where there were so many fires in right front tires and wheel wells. I was particularly surprised at how Bowyer’s right front end fire was handled on pit row. When he came into the pits, it was easy to see flames inside the right front wheel well. Still, the tire changer changed the right front tire while the flames continued and no one made an effort to extinguish them.

Unbelievably, the pit crew just continued with the pit stop as if everything were normal and when they were finally finished, they sent the 15 right back out on the track with the flames STILL BURNING in the right front wheel well! There was even an official standing right there watching it burn and even he made no attempt to keep Bowyer from going back on the track. I was surprised that both the pit crew and the official sent him back out in that condition.

Finally, a lap or two later, Bowyer had to come back to pit row while the flames in the front of his car were so intense it looked like the scene in Stephen King’s movie “Christine” where the old 1957 Plymouth “Christine” tears down the road with flames pouring out of her everywhere. The 15 was toast after that and was out of the race. It was one of the weirdest pit stops I’ve ever seen.

Also, I was surprised to see that Stenhouse was able to continue the race after his fire. I thought his front end looked every bit as fire damaged as Bowyer’s had been. I was amazed that after they put out the fire he was able to drive right back out on the track.
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Most of those fires are blown out when the car resumes. I honestly think that this new weird construction that Goodyear is using has something to do with how the tire unwinds and gets wrapped around the rotor, etc. New construction, new problem.
 
The fire went out on some of the cars, as if it was only burning rubber. Other fires spread to various fluid lines in the front end and caused a lot more damage.
 
its VERY common to see small fires during pit stops in the wheel area. its normally not a big deal at all. The problem in clints case was it was a right front tire and that would have been out of the spotters view until the car came all the way around again. I thought it was weird they didn't get the car back to pit road for an extra lap, but the spotter couldn't see it from that angle.
 
Flame proof brake ducting hoses would probably stop some of the problems, betting Nascar is already on the problem
 
Kyle18fan said:
The Richmond race wouldnt have been nearly as exciting without the tire issues, we would have had a "runaway" leader and a ho hum race IMO
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These tire issues are BS manufacturing problems.Make a tire that wears out not one that comes "unwound" and starts fires.
 
mike honcho said:
These tire issues are BS manufacturing problems.Make a tire that wears out not one that comes "unwound" and starts fires.
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Well they gotta wind the cord on so at some point it has to unwind when the tread is gone. They can make a tire that lasts a whole race, they did it for F-1 but I imagine they cost a fortune. I dont blame Goodyear, they have no control on how much camber these guys run on the right front. They can push the limits of the tire and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. Adds a little spice to the racing IMO
 
Kyle18fan said:
Well they gotta wind the cord on so at some point it has to unwind when the tread is gone. They can make a tire that lasts a whole race, they did it for F-1 but I imagine they cost a fortune. I dont blame Goodyear, they have no control on how much camber these guys run on the right front. They can push the limits of the tire and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. Adds a little spice to the racing IMO
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Goodyear used to make a tire that wore out and didn't come "unwound".I have worked on cars for 20 years and NEVER seen a tire come "unwound" like these do?I think it's a new manufacturing process that sucks.
 
mike honcho said:
Goodyear used to make a tire that wore out and didn't come "unwound".I have worked on cars for 20 years and NEVER seen a tire come "unwound" like these do?I think it's a new manufacturing process that sucks.
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At least they arent blowing up and putting guys in the wall, they were getting ample warning that the tires were giving up. I have always been amazed at how thin the tread was on the Nascar tires, there isnt much there to wear off
 
Kyle18fan said:
At least they arent blowing up and putting guys in the wall, they were getting ample warning that the tires were giving up. I have always been amazed at how thin the tread was on the Nascar tires, there isnt much there to wear off
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No they are pretty much coming apart and burning the cars down.Just about the same thing.
 
"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."

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/...ms-reed-sorenson-fire-goodyear-jimmie-johnson
 
No two driver's are going to have the same setup, to much forward bite and driving hard into the turn and something has got to give sooner or later. It's either screw loose or high and tight, just hang on to the damn thing!!!!!!!!!.
 
I'd rather continue to see races with "tire failure" cautions here and there than see races with mysterious "debris" cautions here and there.

In case no one else has noticed, there have been very few cautions for imaginary debris this year (though there was the Bristol caution light mishap).
 
PeopleAreStrange said:
I'd rather continue to see races with "tire failure" cautions here and there than see races with mysterious "debris" cautions here and there.

In case no one else has noticed, there have been very few cautions for imaginary debris this year (though there was the Bristol caution light mishap).
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Very true. The tire failures have generated plenty of real debris. I'm liking the racing action, and that's all I really care about anymore.
 
It's taking some of the teams a little longer to find out, setup-wise, where the fine line is between fast and fast into the fence.
 
It is aggressive camber and low air pressures, combined with the lower ride height. With less suspension, the tire has to take on the role of a spring. All of this increases tire temperature and results in faster tire wear. JMO.
 
BobbyFord said:
It is aggressive camber and low air pressures, combined with the lower ride height. With less suspension, the tire has to take on the role of a spring. All of this increases tire temperature and results in faster tire wear. JMO.
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lisa said:
Do you think it was the camber, TRL?
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I'll have to agree with BobbyFord. Some teams just haven't figured out that you can NOT do the same things with this newer tire
compound that you could do with last year's. If they insist on abusing the tire by asking it to do too much, shame on them.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
What stands out to me, there were a large number of teams who had NO problems with the right front tires.
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Exactly. That's because some have a 'grip' on what it takes to run these new tires. Just like the other races this year when we saw tire issues. They were limited to select teams. Some teams are simply pushing beyond the limits. I know you know this TRL but we don't want indestructible tires. That makes for bad racing. Tires need to wear out. That produces great racing. I think that's why the racing has been so good this year. You'd think that once a team finds out that they are pushing the limits that they'd learn from than. Some don't.

As far as the tire fires go. They are pushing those brake pads to the limit at places like Richmond. A lot of heat is generated. They've got fans to try to help cool the rotor's down and some choose not to run them all the time as they reduce power. As slight as the reduction in power is it's still something that all teams worry about. I listen to Dale Jr's scanner each and every race. Steve was having Jr. shut off the fans several times throughout the race but as more issues were seen with other teams the left theirs on. Did it help? Who the heck knows but they were trying to respond to the situation that others were having. Some teams were proactive while others weren't even reactive and continued to make the same errors..
 
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From PitTalks

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Saturday nights race in Richmond had an unusual amount of fire on pit road. In general, short track racing will do that, but this past weekend it seemed much worse. We have the explanation and talking to Dennis Terry, front tire changer for Kyle Larson, its not much fun changing when things get that hot.

If you watched the race you know the 15, 17 and 36, just to mention a few, had heat problems on their right fronts. We’re not talking normal glow on the rotor heat, we’re talking fire. So here’s what generally happens to make that seemingly hot right front suspension turn into a hot burning fire.

The tires at Richmond were wearing down pretty good. Depending on a teams set up, the wear could be a little better or worse. Needless to say, the teams that were wearing tires more than others were seeing a lot more heat built up in the right front suspension area. In the event that a tire starts to shred or go down, the rubber coming off the tire can get wrapped up in the suspension and catch on fire. Even the teams that didn’t cut a tire down can find themselves picking up enough rubber on the track and causing the hub to catch fire that way. Either way its caused by rubber on the track, lots of heat on the rotors, and tires getting wore down.

Front Tire Changer Dennis Terry of the #42 had this to say, “Saturday night was a rough night for front tire changers. You have enough trouble on normal days with heat but when you go to short tracks the heat is intensified. Its one of those situations where you can’t just not change the tire, you have to trust your OK and just go at it. Watching the big screen I saw Cory Baldwin jump in there on the #17 when it caught on fire and got it done. That’s about what you have to do.”

Next weekend at Talladega should be a much easier race for the pit crews. Good luck to all the crews.
 
Not knowing the SAI being built into these cars along with angle setups, camber, toe and of course the caster the Rt. front wheel is supposed to lay down in the turn but would be scrubbing down the straightaway. Tire temps in practice would be very important as to how aggressive the set up would be at any given track, but, if the driver likes the loose set up or having it a bit tight will also contribute. They can change tires all they want and drivers are pretty much set in their ways.
 
I liked the races with bias ply tires better.
 
Im all for the idea of tire wear and for teams to make strategy out of it, but not come in for tires every 20 laps.
 
Revman said:
Most of those fires are blown out when the car resumes.
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The fires we saw Saturday night turned out to be as serious as a missing lug nut, at least in my opinion yet officials let them leave pit road, probably based on previous experience with fires going out on there own, as you mentioned . If a car had tried to leave pit road with a missing lug nut however, the officials would have been all over it. After Richmond, it wouldn't surprised me if officials treat wheel fires the same as missing lug nuts and don't let the cars leave until the fire is out.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
Loved the old Bristol asphalt --- tires screeching and smoking like crazy.
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Dover too. That was a way better race on the asphalt. We used to sit, err stand, in the wooden bleachers coming off turn #2. Needed a shower right after the race to get all of the rubber washed off. Man, that was great!
 
Kyle Busch says That the tires suck and are terrible, I tend to believe him
 
Usually when new cars are designed they figure what size tire goes with the new design.When was the last time NASCAR changed the size of the tire or wheel?
 
Kyle18fan said:
Kyle Busch says That the tires suck and are terrible, I tend to believe him
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But that still doesn't answer the fact that many teams had NO problems with the tires.
Maybe Kyle has that opinion because the new compounds don't suit his driving style. Maybe he'll have to change a bit in order to
manage his tires better.
 
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