RELATED: Tire issues crop up at Texas
The tire issues that bit a handful of teams last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway aren’t expected to be cause for concern when NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams head to Homestead-Miami Speedway next week for the season’s final event.
Although Goodyear will bring the same tire to HMS as was used at Texas, officials believe a lack of on-track time to fine-tune setups and air pressures led to last week’s problems. Both practices on Saturday were canceled due to wet track conditions; the only track time for teams came on Friday during opening practice and qualifying.
“We consistently run this combination here and at Homestead, and also at Chicago,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear Director of Race Tire Sales, said last week at Texas. The majority of the Texas issues, he said, were likely due to “weather and a lack of practice.”
“Guys are always pushing the envelope and trying to take advantage of everything,” Stucker said. “That’s a lot of the things you see in practice. You see it early on and you start dialing back. They just didn’t have the ability to do that (at Texas).”
Among those stymied by tire failures at Texas were Joey Logano (Team Penske), Kyle Larson (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates) and Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing).
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards managed to avoid any tire problems, but admitted, “I did worry about the tires that I probably wouldn’t have if I hadn’t seen what happened (to others).
“I don’t know what everybody else’s trouble was,” he said, “but with limited practice you never know what everybody was trying and what limits they were pushing.”
AMS Adding More SAFER Barrier
Nearly 5,000 feet of Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier will be added at Atlanta Motor Speedway before NASCAR returns to the 1.5-mile track next season, according to track officials.
Additional barriers will be installed on the outside wall along the backstretch, frontstretch and exit of Turn 4; portions of the inside walls in all four turns not currently featuring SAFER barrier is also scheduled to be upgraded.
When completed — work is scheduled to begin in January — approximately 4,742 linear feet of SAFER barrier will have been put in place.
“The safety of both drivers and fans continues to be our utmost priority,” AMS president Ed Clark said. “These additions solidify our commitment to providing the safest racing environment possible and the high-quality entertainment experience our fans deserve.”
SAFER barrier consists of steel tubes mounted to the wall, with polystyrene foam “blocks” filling the space in between the two. The system greatly reduces the force of impact when struck by a vehicle.
Prior to this year’s NASCAR weekend at AMS, officials extended the wall at the exit of pit road (near Turn 1) and added a tire barrier in Turn 4 to provide additional protection.
AMS is scheduled to host NASCAR Sprint Cup, XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series teams Feb. 26-28.
Homestead Test on Tap for December
The 2015 NASCAR season officially comes to a close next weekend in with the running of the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. But a handful of Sprint Cup Series teams will be back at the 1.5-mile track barely one month later to take part in a two-day tire test with Goodyear officials.
Organizations scheduled to participate in the test, on tap for Dec. 14-15, are Stewart-Haas Racing (Chevrolet), Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet), Richard Petty Motorsports (Ford) and Furniture Row Racing (Toyota).
It will be Furniture Row Racing’s first on-track outing under the Toyota banner. The No. 78 team, with driver Martin Truex, currently fields Chevrolet entries.
Wednesday, Dec. 16, is a scheduled rain date in case of inclement weather.