Tire shortage at Atlanta

Teams were grumbling yesterday about Goodyear's tire shortage at Atlanta Motor Speedway, something they say they expected, with the end of the season looming and Goodyear switching to a different Atlanta tire next season. Crews had the Goodyear compound surrounded yesterday afternoon, begging for more tires and trying to make deals with rivals for tires. And the situation was becoming increasingly angry. Some team tire men said things will get better as the weekend goes on, with tire wear improving during the race. Neither NASCAR nor Goodyear had any plans to ration tires. Teams are free to buy and sell tires at will after they've gotten their allotment from Goodyear, so multi-car teams, such as the Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush operations, should be in much better shape than smaller operations. Winston Salem Journal