Goodyear Announces Actions to Address NASCAR tires

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced actions focused toward solving the tire issues that hampered last weekend’s event at the Brickyard. Stu Grant, General Manager, Global Race Tires for Goodyear, said engineers are working around the clock to completely understand the issues, and as part of the forward plan, the company is enlisting the knowledge and experience of the NASCAR racing industry to address the short and long term elements of the plan.

“We have a proud history in racing with 54 continuous years of NASCAR involvement, and have enjoyed worldwide success in all forms of racing," Grant said, “but all should be assured that no one was more disappointed than we were with the events in Indianapolis. “We are the first to admit that we missed the mark with the combination for this race. There are many reasons, but they are only important today from the perspective that we learn from those issues and move forward successfully." Grant said that he has shared Goodyear’s forward focus with NASCAR and the sanctioning body was supportive. Next steps include:

• Completing the extensive post-race analysis in process that includes all internal aspects of tire design and manufacturing and discussions with key external stakeholders, including representatives from NASCAR, team owners, crew chiefs and drivers to gain insight to information that will provide clarity to the final analysis.
• Engaging research scientists and engineers, including available assets and modeling capabilities from the Sandia National Laboratories, to develop a range of potential short-term solutions.
• Scheduling a fall track test at Indianapolis with multiple participants to test solutions to full fuel stop capabilities and test again in the spring of 2009 to fine-tune the specific race setup.
• Accelerating discussions with appropriate NASCAR representatives, team owners, drivers, crew chiefs and track management on any future tire. Among elements already being considered are larger overall diameters, wider section widths, and larger bead diameters.
• Developing future tires as a long term solution, looking proactively at the vehicle, tire, setup and track combinations for a complete package to assure only the highest level of performance for NASCAR’s racing fans.
“The knowledgeable people in our business understand the solution to this issue involves all elements of the equation," Grant said. “We are committed to working to bring those elements together in a manner that will produce consistent great racing. “Our responsibility is to provide a tire that works with all of the variables, and we take that responsibility very seriously," Grant said. “We have been performance partners with NASCAR for more than 50 years and we are absolutely committed to remain in that role for another 50 years." Goodyear PR