NASCAR to use smaller fuel cell at Las Vegas

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After three test sessions revealed an excessive amount of tire heat generated by Las Vegas Motor Speedway's new pavement, NASCAR on Sunday announced a 13-gallon fuel cell would be used in conjunction with a harder, newly-developed left side tire compound for its March 10-11 Nextel Cup and Busch Series events.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company conducted a tire test last December on the newly reconfigured and repaved 1.5-mile track, which now has 20-degree banking in its four turns, during which Greg Biffle had a high-speed crash while preparing for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.

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NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton said Biffle's crash had little to do with the decision, but that wear and heat that was observed in open test sessions for Cup and Busch Series cars and tire performance led to the change.

"After discussing it with Goodyear, we feel like we have the potential for some of the same issues that we had at the Charlotte race last year," Pemberton said of the multitude of crashes at Lowe's Motor Speedway following another repaving job.

"So we've decided for those reasons to go with the 13-gallon fuel cell. And the tire will be different, as they've decided to change the left-side compound and maybe some construction."

For the most part, the Cup and Busch cars tested with the same tire, but Goodyear was already aware of some potential issues, Goodyear's marketing manager for stock car racing Phil Holmer said, and thus tested tires on the Busch cars that were developed between the two tests, which were only five days apart.

"In the progression of testing from [Goodyear's tire test] through the open test, there was more heat in the right side tires than we wanted to see," Holmer said. "Even though we had in December what we thought was the right tire, we came back to the open test with an even harder left side and the same right sides."

Holmer said that right-side tire is now known as the "Charlotte right side" after its use last year. (Continued)