Jimmie Johnson was the only driver to crash at Wednesday's test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Credit: Autostock

Lowe's tire test fails to provide a solution

Goodyear: Tire wear more severe Wednesday than in October

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson was a late addition to Goodyear's tire test on the newly repaved surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

He was an early departure.

Bobby Labonte said putting restrictor plates on cars at LMS would not solve the problem. Credit: Autostock

LMS RESURFACING Lowe's Motor Speedway underwent a $3 million resurfacing project earlier this year in hopes of solving the tire-wear issues that plagued the 2005 Busch and Cup races.  •   Complete story, click here Contractors that conducted the resurfacing project at Lowe's Motor Speedway said they had the best results from any track they have done.  •   Complete story, click here TRACK PAGE •   Lowe's Motor Speedway

A blown right-rear tire sent Johnson into the Turn 4 wall about 20 laps into Wednesday's session, destroying the car and sending the team home before enough data was gathered to help Goodyear prepare for the all-star race and Coca-Cola 600 in late May.

"I'm not quite sure what caused it,'' said Johnson, who has won four consecutive and five of the last six races at LMS. "I know they are looking at it and I'm sure they'll figure out what happened.

"There wasn't much else we could do, so we packed up and went home. For the time I was out there, the track still felt like Lowe's Motor Speedway. It just seemed much, much smoother than it's ever been."

Johnson's crash was a reminder of the countless accidents drivers had last season on the 1.5-mile track, where blown tires contributed to a combined 37 cautions in two Nextel Cup races.

Track president H.A. "Humpy'' Wheeler said everything will be done to make sure there's not a re-occurrence of tire issues, which were blamed on higher-than-normal speeds caused by a grinding process used to smooth the surface.

That led to the track spending $3.5 million to resurface, which is expected to create even higher speeds until it has time to age.

"It would not surprise me if you saw a 197 mph lap,'' Wheeler said.

Elliott Sadler set the track record with a lap of 193.216 mph in October after the track had been ground a second time. That was with a qualifying setup, which is much faster than a race setup.

Bobby Labonte said he was three-tenths off the track record with a race setup during Wednesday morning's session. He expects the track record to be shattered in May.

LMS track president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, left, said everything will be done to avoid last year's tire problems. Credit: Autostock

2005 TIRE TROUBLES Teams tested at Lowe's Motor Speedway last September in preparation for the October races, but instead of finding a cure for tire problems, many found the wall.  •   Complete story, click here A rash of accidents in last October's Busch race at LMS caused NASCAR officials to contemplate postponing the following day's Cup race.  •   Complete story, click here Blown outTire problems plague the 2005 UAW-GM Quality 500 Trouble for twoJunior and Gordon find trouble at Lowe's last fall Down and outTony Stewart cuts a tire and hits the wall More tire troubleSadler joins the list of drivers with tire troubles Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Wheeler said there's concern on his part and NASCAR's that the speeds will lead to tire problems. Stopping short of recommending restrictor plates as are used at Daytona and Talladega, Wheeler didn't rule out the possibility of NASCAR taking a role in reducing speeds.

"They know it's going to be fast and they know this is an issue,'' Wheeler said. "They're great at responding to safety issues.''

Labonte and Scott Riggs, also involved in the test, are against restrictor plates.

"It's not going to make it safer,'' Riggs said. "It's going to make you run just as fast through the corners, if not faster because you're going to try to make up the time you lost on the straightaways.

"No matter what we run, even if it's 200 mph, that still ain't enough to put restrictor plates on them.''

Unfortunately for the drivers, this won't be their call any more than it was in 2000 when NASCAR implemented plates at New Hampshire for the first race after a resurfacing.

Wheeler noted there are other ways, such as gears and different spoiler heights, to slow cars.

"The problem is drivers,'' he said. "They don't want to go slow. They wake up in the morning, just like their crew chiefs, with one thought. That's how do we get this car to go faster?

"We're fighting a battle with them all the time. They'd run 300 mph if they thought it would win the race.''

Rick Heinrich, Goodyear's product manager overseeing the test, said the tire wear was more severe on Wednesday than it was in October. He is working under the assumption the tires developed from the tests will solve the problem.

Labonte recommended a harder compound tire that won't wear as fast as the softer compound that has been used since last season. He also didn't rule out drivers going 80 to 90 percent of the maximum speed as many insisted they did in October when there were an event-record 15 cautions.

"We can make the same problem happen again if we don't do the right things,'' Labonte said.

Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, was at LMS monitoring the situation. NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said no decision will be made on whether the sanctioning body will step in to lower speeds until after a full Cup test session in early May.

Wheeler said nobody will know all the answers until after the May 28 Coca-Cola 600.

"That's what NASCAR racing is all about, adjusting to the track conditions that are there,'' he said. "You put them out in the parking lot and they're going to figure out how to get around it. You put them on the moon and they can figure out how to get around the moon.

"When you challenge them with new pavement that is when you really are asking for some creativity, particularly in the handling area. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.''