Credit: Autostock

Opinions mixed on Pocono tire solutions

LONG POND, Pa. -- A rash of blown left front tires had some competitors fired up at last month's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway.

NASCAR, the racetrack and Goodyear stepped up in the week following that event and made changes to the pavement in the Tunnel Turn and the turn's inside curbing.

Jeff Gordon Credit: Autostock

"We had a handful of teams that developed problems with their left-front tire at Pocono last month, so while we came back with the same tire set-up, we've increased the minimum recommended inflation for the left-sides," Mark Keto, Goodyear's lead engineer, stock car racing, said. "We've worked with NASCAR and the track to look at all factors that may have affected tire performance.

"The track's improvements should help the overall situation. We'll be watching very closely during practice and working with the teams to make sure everything goes well."

Pennsylvania 500 1st Practice Speeds Qualifying Order

Three-time Pocono winner Jeff Gordon was one driver who wasn't too keen on the track's adjustments.

"We were in good shape on tires -- the tires were never an issue," said Gordon, who finished ninth in June. "If it was the curbing that was causing all that, then you shouldn't have a problem now because you can't go anywhere near that curb, now."

Competitors had complained about the bumpiness of the Tunnel Turn and in June, repaving was done. Gordon was skeptical after Friday's first practice.

Ricky Rudd Credit: Autostock

"I wouldn't even call it that," Gordon said. "There is a ramp back there that you can get some air off of, but I don't know if there is a repaving job on the racetrack.

"I wish they would have fixed the racetrack the same time they fixed the curb. There are some things in the racetrack -- some really big bumps and roughness -- that would have been nice to have gotten through that area a little bit better."

A number of crew chiefs said they didn't anticipate a recurrence of June's issues.

"What we did after the first race was look at the camber on our car because of what happened with that curb and our cambers," Kurt Busch's crew chief Jimmy Fennig said. "It wasn't (the fault of) Goodyear's tire, it's what we induced in the tire and what that curb induced in the tire.

"All we're gonna do is camber adjustment because they moved the ripples up on the curb to where you can't go ahead and saw that tire off. We've also adjusted more on our cambers to get some heat from the outside edge back into the inside."

Ricky Rudd had at least five flat tires in June and consequently made a myriad of adjustments before Friday's practices began.

"We've made some critical changes because we feel we've figured out what the problems were all about," Wood Brothers team engineer Hoyt Overbagh said. "So we've made the changes appropriate to get rid of the problem.

"I think there were a lot of factors and what we ended up doing was just adjust a little on a large number of things. We're comfortable and don't feel like we should experience any problems."

Fennig said he wasn't concerned about paying extra attention to Goodyear's advisory on air pressure.

Jimmy Fennig: "All we're gonna do is camber adjustment because they moved the ripples up on the curb to where you can't go ahead and saw that tire off." Credit: Autostock

"I'm just gonna start where I finished off the last race," Fennig said. "Goodyear feels pretty comfortable about their tire. I think the problems last time were more camber-related than it was air pressure-related."

Mark Martin's crew chief Pat Tryson said he was comfortable with where his team stood.

"We didn't have any problems (in June) and even though we've looked at everything, we haven't made any major changes," Tryson said. "We've made a little air pressure adjustment, but other than that, we didn't have any issue.

"People that were real aggressive, if they're real aggressive again, I think they'll have problems again. We weren't real aggressive (in June) and won't be this time (and) hopefully, we won't have any problems."

Tryson said Friday's two practice sessions wouldn't be much help.

"I don't know because nobody really had issues in practice last time and then all of a sudden when the race started there were issues everywhere," Tryson said. "It seems to be hard to judge it by practice (because) you can't really run long enough.

"Last time in the race there were guys having them in two or three laps (so) it's kind of strange."