04/17/24
July 27, 2008
Johnson survives tire debacle at Indianapolis: INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Jimmie Johnson grabbed his second win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by surviving horrendous tire troubles that made Sunday’s race a caution-marred debacle. A durability issue with the tires Goodyear brought to the Brickyard forced NASCAR to slow the race with competition cautions designed to make teams change their tires.
posted by knowsalittle to auto racing at 05:39 PM - 11 comments
That was awful! I wish they had used a much harder tire even if the drivers complained about it being too slick. I was quite surprised that no one tried staying out on the last caution...c'mon it's the Brickyard 400! I'm also a little surprised no one tried short pitting that last caution by pitting four (4) laps before the scheduled caution lap. That would have been before they closed pit road (assuming they didn't leave it closed for that whole interval). I really think Nascar screwed up by continuing to throw the competition cautions. Make the teams take some risks. After the first forty (40) laps, they knew what they were dealing with. What a joke!
posted by skifan at 06:49 PM on July 27, 2008
My take on the race or lack there of. No doubt Goodyear dropped the ball. If I had bought a $100 ticket I would be pissed. Remember what F1 did when they had the tire problem a couple years ago at Indy. They gave any returning fan a ticket to the next race and that is exactly what NASCAR should do. Todays race was more of a 8 lap trophy dash than a 400 mile race For a sport that is trying to compete with the stick and ball guys todays exhibition leaves a lot to be desired.
posted by Ironhead at 06:57 PM on July 27, 2008
Remember what F1 did when they had the tire problem a couple years ago at Indy. They gave any returning fan a ticket to the next race and that is exactly what NASCAR should do. They did indeed. And then they dropped Indy (and the US) from the F1 calendar. Whether NASCAR can afford to do the same, I doubt, though I suspect that they have a fairly good bargaining position with the Indianapolis Motor Wearaway right now.
posted by etagloh at 09:07 PM on July 27, 2008
One thought. NASAR is loosing a long time fan. This will be my last year of NASCAR. Only staying around because of a Fantasy League I am in and will need to keep track of my drivers. I hope Brian France enjoys his IROC racing next year. This sure not what the moonshiners had in mind when you run what you brung. Good bye
posted by coach at 09:39 PM on July 27, 2008
Given what happened in F1, if TWO completely different series with completely different tyre manufacturers had severe tyre issues within a few years of each other, to me that would indicate a big problem with the track surface. etagloh: Can't blame the tyre debacle in F1 on the race no longer being at Indy. This is Bernie Ecclestone we're talking about. The matter came down to money, pure and simple. The fans had shown they were willing to forgive, and the audience IS there, but Tony George just couldn't pay what Bernie wanted and still make it profitable. (From what I gather the gap between the two figures was to the tune of 3-4 million dollars.) This is an increasing problem in Formula One with all but the vastly wealthy Asian and Middle Eastern venues having difficulty in paying the increasing cost to host a race. A cost which increases every year WELL above the rate of inflation, for the duration of the contract.
posted by Drood at 10:26 PM on July 27, 2008
I watched for about 10 minutets & when I saw Kevin Harvick getting the "lucky dog" & being 15 laps down I didn't bother watch anymore once I realized that the NASCAR officials had taken all racing strategy out of the race. Once the green flag drops, NASCAR need to quit driving the bus and let the drivers drive the cars with the crew chiefs making the decisions.
posted by m8nsman at 10:35 AM on July 28, 2008
I assume that the racing surface at Indianopolis has been down for at least a few months. I also assume that NASCAR could have arranged to make a few cars available at the Speedway for Goodyear to use for testing. If both of these assumptions are true, then why was there no testing done? What sort of company is it that puts an untested product into the field? I can assure Goodyear that I will not very likely put their product on anything I allow my family to drive. I realize that they have to meet DOT regulations and standards, but how can you trust a company that was so poorly prepared for the Sppedway debacle?
posted by Howard_T at 11:48 AM on July 28, 2008
Yuck!!
posted by Fly_Piscator at 06:43 PM on July 29, 2008
Tony Stewart already called Goodyear out on this subject. The a--hole of NASCAR got it right on this topic. I also wonder if budget cuts affected the development and testing of tires (tyres, for you F1 girls)and Goodyear decided to go with what was in the ware(wear)house. No matter, NASCAR lost alot of fans - both old and new - because of their carelessness and inattention to detail. Indy is a lousy place to watch a race anyway! Went to the inaugral Brickyard and sat on the front straight - what a joke - could only see the cars about 50 yds before and after the start/finish line. Backstraight and corner views from the straight are nonexistent. Dropped my tickets after year three and three straight price increases for a progressively worse product.
posted by a6fan1127 at 08:26 PM on July 29, 2008
tyres, for you F1 girls Fuck you too, redneck. At least my guys turn right and aren't too pussy to race in the wet.
posted by Drood at 09:32 PM on July 29, 2008
(edit)....as drivers feared going full speed and crew chiefs were forced to gamble on tire strategy. No one was certain when NASCAR would call a caution, or if the sanctioning body would eventually decide to let the drivers go as long as they wanted. Imagine a race at the Brickyard with a caution with 10 laps to go, 36 cars on the lead lap, and only two cars not on the track at the checkered flag. Sound exciting? Hardly. The lack of technology and track testing from Goodyear with the COT, and the indecisiveness of NASCAR combined to virtually ruin the 'watchability' of one of the so-called "gems" of the NASCAR crown. I can't ever recall tuning in to a televised race to root for the pit crew. Boring. Regularly scheduled competition yellows left little racing The COT has been running for more than a year now and Goodyear's response was "We came with the best tire we had for the conditions and we fell short. We'll try to get it right," Really? When? I guess you needed some egg on your face to get in the labs and out on the Indy track.