Atlanta Motor Speedway Goodyear Tire Comment
Following the Kobalt Tools 500, Ed Clark, president and general manger for Atlanta Motor Speedway, spoke with Stu Grant, General Manager Global Racing Tires for Goodyear.
“Following my conversation with Stu Grant, I have pledged to make our track available to Goodyear to come to AMS on an as needed basis to get the proper compound they need before the October 26 Pep Boys Auto 500,” said Clark. “We will do everything possible from our end to help make sure that we have the best tire compound available when the Sprint Cup teams return this fall.”
Tire Talk - Drivers Point Fingers at Goodyear for Poor Tire Selection
Drivers were still not happy with their Goodyear Eagles after climbing from their Sprint Cup cars following the Kobalt Tools 500, perhaps none were more unhappy than two-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.
“That was the most pathetic racing tire that I’ve ever been on in my professional career,” Stewart said. “They (Goodyear) exited out of Formula One. They exited out of IRL. They exited out of World of Outlaws and there is a reason for that. Goodyear can’t build a tire that is worth a crap.
“If I were Goodyear, I would be really embarrassed about what they brought here. I guarantee you Hoosier of Firestone or somebody can come in and do a lot better job than what they are doing right now.”
Goodyear marketing manager Justin Fantozzi said Goodyear officials were not disappointed with their selection for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.
“We are tremendously proud of the wear rates we saw here,” Fantozzi said. “We have a defined development for this particular tire that started in August with a test here in Atlanta.”
When asked if there are changes in store for the tire Goodyear will bring back when the Cup Series returns to AMS in October, Fantozzi said they have a defined process that is followed.
“We’ll do the same thing we do after every race. We have post race data now, so we will go back to Akron, Ohio and sit down with engineers and see where that leaves us for the October race. Driver comments are part of the data set we use when selecting tires, so we will gather input there as well.”
Georgia Power NASCAR Sprint Cup Pole winner Jeff Gordon didn’t have rave reviews about Goodyear’s tire selection either.
“I felt like I was going to crash every single lap,” Jeff Gordon said about his run. “I’m exhausted right now. I feel like I’ve run a thousand miles here. That was the hardest day I have ever had at Atlanta, especially for a top-five finish. This car, this tire, at this track was just terrible.”
Kyle Busch Hits Trifecta at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Drivers have Las Vegas Motor Speedway far in their rearview mirrors, but Kyle Busch managed to hit the trifecta this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, scoring three historical feats in two days of racing.
On Friday night, Busch scored the victory in the American Commercial Lines 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, a precursor to his fortunes in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 where he would emerge victorious as well. In doing so, Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to score a victory in the Craftsman Truck Series and the Sprint Cup Series on the same weekend.
Busch became the youngest driver in AMS history at 22-years-old, edging Jeff Gordon’s record by mere months. Busch also delivered Toyota their first-ever Cup Series win, becoming the first foreign manufacturer to notch a win in NASCAR’s elite series since Al Keller wheeled a Jaguar to victory in 1954.