Barnhart not concerned about cut tires

Brian Barnhart, the president of the Indy Racing League's competition division, said today he isn't concerned about what seemed to be a high number of cut tires during this week's two-day open test at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Twenty-one car-and-driver combinations participated. There were no accidents.

"We seem to (cut tires) each year at the open test, but it doesn't seem to be as bad during race weekends (there)," he said. "I think some of them are done on pit road, as there are a few places where the concrete boxes and the asphalt pit lane are a little rough and exposed.

"Because of the long track times, we go yellow for each reported cut, but during the ensuing track inspection, we rarely find anything significant on the track surface.

"Sometimes during race weekends, because the sessions are so much shorter, we don't always go yellow for a cut unless the observers see an object." Indy Star