Problems continue to plague NASCAR

Problems continue to plague NASCAR and Goodyear as they search for the right tire combination for Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Goodyear has held three tests already this year at the 2.5-mile speedway and working to schedule another with drivers Reed Sorenson, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers.

Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said on Friday that teams were still getting only about 12 laps of wear on the tires. "We're still not where we want to be," he said.

In last season’s race, won by Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR had to throw a caution every 10 to 12 laps of green-flag racing because the tires Goodyear provided were wearing to the cords and producing an enormous amount of dust.

This year's Allstate 400 is scheduled for July 26, which leaves about 90 days until the race weekend. Darby said Goodyear needs about 30 days to produce tires for an event, leaving about 60 days to find the right combination.

"Goodyear has worked real hard up to this point and still is. They are prepared to make changes. Typically, they need a good, solid 30 days," Darby said.

"If the problem is labeled as simple as we can't get a fuel run out of the tires, then it's the same. But is the black dust still flying around? No, it's not. They're making good progress, but we're not there yet."

Darby said NASCAR would like for tires to last at least 32 to 35 laps to prevent problems in the race.