Smack: Laying the rubber from Mexico to Montreal (cont'd)

2. Who's most to blame for last Sunday's debacle at Indianapolis: NASCAR or Goodyear?

David Caraviello: I've said it once, I'll say it again: This was a complete breakdown by everybody. NASCAR's restrictive test policy backfired. And Goodyear's assumptions blew up in their face.

Dave Rodman: Boy, there is a lot of confusion surrounding this one. In my opinion, probably 60 percent Goodyear, 40 percent NASCAR -- unless NASCAR has more control over Goodyear than we think they do.

Raygan Swan: I've read so many stories and listened to so many explanations this week, but ultimately the buck stops somewhere, and it has to be NASCAR. I have to believe they are ultimately responsible for quality racing conditions and could've conducted a more fruitful tire test back in April.

Dave Rodman: But Raygs -- only if they have oversight over Goodyear's decisions. And since Goodyear is a supplier, I think NASCAR leaves the responsibility to bring the right stuff up to them.

Apology accepted?

"We're sorry." It's rare in sports, but on Tuesday it's what NASCAR's Robin Pemberton said. That, writes David Caraviello, can go a long way.

• Complete story, click here
• Pemberton: 'Never again'
• NASCAR issues apology

David Caraviello: From everything we've heard thus far, it seems the Goodyear folks were ultimately the ones who said, "Hey, the track will rubber in with more cars on it, and it will be OK." If there's a smoking gun here, that's it.

Raygan Swan: You know what, with all the problems recently, like at Atlanta, there needs to be more oversight and involvement. They rolled the dice, Goodyear did, and lost. But NASCAR agreed and went along with the assumption that everything was going to be OK.

David Caraviello: But you know what? This year's testing sites came from a poll of crew chiefs last year, and they're the ones who ultimately chose Phoenix and Pocono over Indy.

Raygan Swan: Well then maybe it was NASCAR's job to remind them of the repeated tire issues at the IMS.

Dave Rodman: The tragedy is, Goodyear really gacked by trying to do the right thing. You don't have to read much into Greg Stucker's comment that "we had a better [safer, more track-compatible?] tire, but it would have handled badly." Goodyear didn't want the boys singing about having to work too hard, so they wussed out at the critical moment.

David Caraviello: And there's also talk in the garage that the teams chosen for these tire tests work harder to get info for their own organizations than for Goodyear, which defeats the whole purpose of tire testing anyway.

Raygan Swan: Good point, David. So what needs to change moving forward? The car or the tire? But something absolutely needs to change.

David Caraviello: I just don't understand the logic sometimes. They know they have problems at Darlington, so they go back a second time to get it right. And then they have problems at Indy, and make a stab at it.

Dave Rodman: It's Goodyear's responsibility to get the information they need to make a decision. Sorry to self-promote a comment Junior made in my Tuesday column (read it here), but Dale Jr., who I'm glad to say is a driving fool, said the "better" tire he tested in April would have worked better. It was the one Goodyear chose not to bring.

Raygan Swan: Yeah I would say Dale Jr. should've spoken up then! Not after the race.

Dave Rodman: But he was only responsible for testing and offering input. Goodyear went home and made the decision.

Raygan Swan: Well then, that's selfish in my opinion. Every once in a while you can do something for the greater good.

David Caraviello: But again: the crew chiefs stand up and say, "We want an Indy test," and perhaps none of this happens. Of course, we're asking them to be clairvoyant here. But that's part of their job, right?

Dave Rodman: You don't want to drive a 50-ton earthmover over them, but if NASCAR has no oversight over Goodyear's decisions and doesn't communicate between tire tests and production, then the fault is 95 percent Goodyear's.

Raygan Swan: But David, tires have been an issue before at IMS, so no they don't have to be clairvoyant.

Dave Rodman: DC, do you think they would have had to rant and rave and lobby for the "right" tire? And history has some validity -- this was a severe anomaly. So do you think the drivers and crew chiefs would have opted for the more drivable but less durable and track-friendly tire anyway, never predicting the disaster they were fomenting?

David Caraviello: Dave, I don't know. But with a full-field test, Goodyear would have known the track wouldn't rubber in as expected, and wouldn't have had to wait until event weekend to find out.

Dave Rodman: And just to tick everyone off one last time, as far as refunds go, let me use this parable: If Jon Lester started a game against the Yanks, walked the first three hitters, gave up a grand slam to the cleanup man; four more runs in the first inning and the Sox lost 24-0, would either team give the attendees a refund? Would they replay the game? No. The Sox stunk that night, so get over it. Ditto the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

David Caraviello: And thus sayeth the Book of Rodman. (Continued)