Some teams may only change tires…once in the Daytona 500?

Goodyear's director of racing Greg Stucker was asked point blank, "Has Goodyear developed the perfect race tire?" He smiled, accepted the compliment then chose his words carefully. "We're very happy," Stucker said. "Let's put it that way." The fact is, Goodyear has worked on the 2011 Speed Weeks/Daytona 500 tire since May 2010, just weeks after the announcement Daytona International Speedway would be repaved. It was worth the effort. Not only do these stock-car tires not generate heat, they don't wear out. Sprint Cup teams have spent virtually no money on tires. Few cars changed tires in the 62- and 60-lap Gatorade Duel At Daytona qualifying races on Thursday. Many of those tires still looked fresh after 150 miles of wear. "Tire wear is basically nonexistent," Stucker said. "Guys could have gone further in the Duel. We know that guys who ran tires in the Duel ran them again in Friday practice to put a few more laps on them." There is talk that some teams may elect to go the distance on one set of tires today. The tandem or love-bug drafting has not created problems for the tire. One of the reasons the Cup cars can run in a two-car draft is because of the their grip. Since there is no sign of tire wear after a 150-mile run, there will be one or two teams that try to push the envelope to gain track position. Daytona Beach News Journal