NASCAR wants to avoid a tire war
For the time being, Firestone, the American company that is probably best suited to go after Goodyear’s contract when it expires, is not interested in approaching NASCAR.
“Obviously," Al Speyer, motor-sports executive director for Firestone, said, “NASCAR is a very successful form of motor racing. But, we are really, really busy with open-wheel racing."
Might that change when Goodyear’s contract with NASCAR expires?
Speyer said, “We are always looking at all motor sports, and we have ongoing analysis, but we could never comment on pending business ventures."
Stewart has criticized Goodyear several times over the years. His latest objection concerned the tire brought to Atlanta. Stewart, a two-time Sprint Cup champion, said tires were just too hard. As such, he said, they did not offer enough grip, and that made for a dangerous situation as drivers had a hard time keeping control.
“It was just sliding around," Stewart said. “(The car was) loose in and loose off and tight in the center. Everything you asked the car to do, it wouldn’t do because the tires couldn’t take it."
Stewart, who has raced other brands of tires when he was in USAC and the Indy Racing League, said Goodyear should be embarrassed and that Firestone and Hoosier could do a better job.
In a statement released this week, Goodyear said it believed it had brought the best tires possible to Atlanta.
“We believe that our engineering, research and tire development is second to none. We accept that drivers will have their own opinions about our tires," the statement said.
Stewart reacted to Goodyear statements Wednesday by telling the Martinsville-Henry County chamber of commerce in Virginia: “For them to say that they were satisfied with the race, that’s insane," Stewart said. “If they really firmly believe that, if they believe what they put out in their press statement that they were happy with the result, then that scares me to death."