Goodyear returns to Indy to test tires this week

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Wednesday to continue its testing program for this year’s Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the track this July 24-26. This week's one-day session is a continuation from a rain-shortened test at the Speedway last week. Goodyear held three different sessions at Indianapolis last September to begin the testing program, and made some good strides toward this year’s tire recommendation at that time. After the long winter, the tire manufacturer picked up where it left off at the historic, 2.5-mile track. Rain slowed the on-track activity last Monday and Tuesday, forcing Goodyear and the four Sprint Cup teams it was working with to stay through Wednesday. Participating last week were #17-Matt Kenseth (Ford), #39-Ryan Newman (Chevrolet), #43-Reed Sorenson (Dodge) and #83-Brian Vickers (Toyota).

“The goal was to build upon what we've learned up to this point. We started last week on the control tire from last fall, the one that enabled us to make some 25-lap runs at the time. We went on to evaluate some additional compounds and constructions and we just didn’t see the same results," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s Director of Race Tire Sales. “The one thing we know that changed over the winter was the amount of rubber on the race track. Our test last week was the first on-track activity since our fall tests, and the race track is much greener than we saw at that time. We’re not getting the wear levels we’d like to see at this point."

As a result, Goodyear has decided to return to Indianapolis for a continuation test this coming Wednesday. “The track worked with us, the teams have worked with us and our guys at the Goodyear Tech Center have produced some additional development tires in just a few days so we can continue our testing this week," said Stucker. “Even though the wear wasn’t the same as we saw last fall, the drivers were happy with the handling characteristics of this set-up. Our challenge right now is to not overreact to last week’s results because we know the track will be different after the Indianapolis 500 in May. That’s why we have a multi-car confirmation test scheduled in June in preparation for our race in July.“

Three of the four teams from last week will return this Wednesday for the continuation test — those of Kenseth, Newman and Vickers. Sorenson and his team could not make it back this week and will be replaced by #9-Kasey Kahne. “Like all tire testing at Goodyear, this is a process," said Stucker. “Our goal is to always bring the best performing, most competitive tires to the race track. Indy certainly presents a challenge and we are committed to getting it right." Goodyear PR