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NASCAR (Official Thread)

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NJ-Buckeye;2308281; said:
I've been to most of the tracks... and way too many races.. from my recollections, drivers liked Daytona... their dislike came from the track heat and what it did to the engines and tires

When we were testing compounds and tread designs Daytona and Indy were common sites

The track most disliked was Michigan.. the track destroyed tires... just ate them... I remember one year, the race came dangerously close to being black flagged because everyone was out of tires.. years earlier the drivers insisted on a very very soft sidewall which would literally slingshot the cars.. it was awesome on the test tracks.. our engineers begged them NOT to use it at Michigan .. track had so many ruts, holes and debris, the sidewalls could not hold up... and they didn't.. they strong armed us and it was a disaster.. they backed off and we were able to bring a tire with a stronger sidewall.. we told them it will cut 10-15 mph off the slingshot version but you'll live.. they bitched and moaned...

Goodyear can make a tire to do absolutely ANYTHING... and these mechanics can make a car do absolutely ANYTHING... but somewhere along the road, driver and mechanic common sense has to prevail... the major crashes yesterday had nothing to do with technology or the track.. they were all driver induced
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I remember a few years ago when goodyear completely botched the tire at the Brickyard 400, and they had to go under caution every 10 laps because the tires couldn't take it
 
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Bucknut24;2308712; said:
I remember a few years ago when goodyear completely botched the tire at the Brickyard 400, and they had to go under caution every 10 laps because the tires couldn't take it
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That was amusing. Not as amusing as the Michelin debacle at the 2005 GP USU (also at Indy), but amusing nonetheless.
 
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Bucknut24;2308712; said:
I remember a few years ago when goodyear completely botched the tire at the Brickyard 400, and they had to go under caution every 10 laps because the tires couldn't take it
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If you build a tire with almost balloon type sidewalls... and a tread so thin and sticky that will almost suck the surface... the cars will be a rocket.. 225+ would be nothing

If you make the sidewall rigid with enough tread to handle any surface, the tire will endure and the driver will be safe.. on the far end of this spectrum, think run-flats...

You guess who calls the shots in deciding what they demand the tire to do.. they want the tire to perform like those on dragsters.. but the tracks, cars and duration are polar

I don't recall the situation at Brickyard unless it was the one where no one would run rain treads.. because they are slower.. and safer.. in rain .. or was it track heat?

I'm retired from there.. but trust me... the engineering marvels they have.. can do anything... but there are times the customer demands a product that is not meant for the application or conditions

There was hell to pay when Goodyear said no to Ford on the tire Ford demanded for the Explorer... first time I ever heard a no to Detroit... Firestone was strong armed and you had the Firestone 500 followed by the 721... it's not like Firestone forgot how to make a tire

When Fox send me the script of Volcano... then explained they needed a tire that could burn for 10 minutes and stay moving.. which is impossible.. the wizards made the tire
 
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Bucknut24;2308727; said:
From what I remember, the it was the debut of the COT (the year) and tire just wasn't comparable with the track and the car, after 10 laps the tires would blow or worn down to its core
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Buds verified.. said it was bad.. rapidly moving target.. every car was brand new construction so they were constantly changing its set-up on the cars.. from time specs were made, test tires built & tested.. then got to track to find out every single car had dramatically new set-ups and were still changing set-ups right up to start

BTW every NASCAR tire is still hand made.. for a specific race at a specific track and specific weather conditions
 
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NJ-Buckeye;2308753; said:
Buds verified.. said it was bad.. rapidly moving target.. every car was brand new construction so they were constantly changing its set-up on the cars.. from time specs were made, test tires built & tested.. then got to track to find out every single car had dramatically new set-ups and were still changing set-ups right up to start

BTW every NASCAR tire is still hand made.. for a specific race at a specific track and specific weather conditions
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you seem to be very informed when it comes to tires and the racing,

do you know why they never use rain tires for the road courses? seems like they should be able to? I think the excuse they make on TV is something about the weight of the car?
 
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Bucknut24;2308766; said:
you seem to be very informed when it comes to tires and the racing,

do you know why they never use rain tires for the road courses? seems like they should be able to? I think the excuse they make on TV is something about the weight of the car?
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Why would you want to use a tire that gave you less rubber on the road than you could otherwise get? (Unless you mean rain tires for road courses... in the rain)
 
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AKAK;2308791; said:
Why would you want to use a tire that gave you less rubber on the road than you could otherwise get? (Unless you mean rain tires for road courses... in the rain)
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lol yes

I think it was last year or somewhat recent it rained, at watkins glen and was just wondering why they can't just race in the rain
 
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Bucknut24;2308766; said:
you seem to be very informed when it comes to tires and the racing,

do you know why they never use rain tires for the road courses? seems like they should be able to? I think the excuse they make on TV is something about the weight of the car?
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they certainly use rain tires in F1

race tires are very expensive... manufacturers make nothing.. in fact they most likely lose money.. it's the promotional value that is meaningful

each team gets about a dozen sets.. couple sets for practice and qualifying.. rest for race day

everybody runs on the same tire.. gotta keep it a level playing field...

the teams create sets created in the same shift... they inflate them at different levels... depending on the bank of the track

BTW have been to so many tracks and races, it bores me to tears
 
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NJ-Buckeye;2308853; said:
they certainly use rain tires in F1

race tires are very expensive... manufacturers make nothing.. in fact they most likely lose money.. it's the promotional value that is meaningful

each team gets about a dozen sets.. couple sets for practice and qualifying.. rest for race day

everybody runs on the same tire.. gotta keep it a level playing field...

the teams create sets created in the same shift... they inflate them at different levels... depending on the bank of the track

BTW have been to so many tracks and races, it bores me to tears
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i know open wheel cars (FI and i think IRL does as well)

and yea, I do remember at times they've had a tire shortage and teams have had to bargain for more tires :lol:


but I still wanna know why NASCAR can't use rain tires on road courses if it's raining! lol
 
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My favorite NASCAR story... Penske built a brand new track in LA and this was the Opening Day...

Goodyear has a huge double loge on the finish line and it was loaded with very high profile clients... we brought a half dozen drivers in to mingle and talk... separately of course

Mark Martin holds a Q&A.. customer dude asks "Mark, do you have a special strategy for today's race?" .. room gets quiet.. Martin blurts out "yep" .. room gets really quiet, ready for the inside skinny... stuff that NO ONE else will know but this room... Martin continues... hand gestures and all... "I'm gonna stomp on that accelerator..." long hesitation "... and I'm gonna keep it there"
silence continues... was hilarious..
 
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