Goodyear's 'got some work to do,' Newman says
Sunday, Mar. 07, 2010
AP
A piece of tire flies off Mark Martin's car, foreground, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., Sunday, March 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Glenn Smith)
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ATLANTA - MARCH 07: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Tornados Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7, 2010 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Getty Images for NASCAR
ATLANTA - MARCH 05: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 Tornados Chevrolet, prepares to qualify for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 5, 2010 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Getty Images
ATLANTA - MARCH 07: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 Hendrickcars.com/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, loses his tire on the track during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7, 2010 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images)
AP
Mark Martin shreds a tire as he slides through the grass during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., Sunday, March 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Glenn Smith)
More than a dozen tire failures marred the race, sending front-running race cars either to the back or to pit road out of concern.
Pole-winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. pitted once when he thought he had a loose wheel. Only after he'd stopped did he learn there was nothing "wrong."
“We got two bad right-side tires and right-rear tires," he said. "I don’t know, it felt the wheels were coming off.”
“We pitted and the wheel was fine, but the car was vibrating so bad I couldn’t hardly see.”
Goodyear officials blamed most of the failures on punctures or aggressive setups the teams chose to run.
Ryan Newman respectfully disagreed: “That's what they always say, right? I guess the drivers should probably slow down, too, and save their tires."
Newman acknowledged that concocting a workable formula for the slick, abrasive and speed-producing 1.54-mile AMS surface is challenging. Still, he criticized the “inconsistencies” of the equipment.
“Goodyear's got some work to do. It's a safety situation. We popped one. There are a lot of guys who popped one,” he said.
“It was too sensitive for the guys who didn't get it right. The guys who had their cars just right, yeah, they didn't have any issues. But either way, they've got a little bit more work to do here.”
Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and Sam Hornish spent two days testing for Goodyear at the Hampton, Ga., track in January.
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