Tire problems crop up early in Daytona testing

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- There were some quizzical looks among crew chiefs and drivers here Wednesday as they struggled to deal with unexpected tire problem during Daytona 500 drafting runs with NASCAR's new stock car.One driver, Robby Gordon, felt the tire situation to be so questionable that he packed up his two cars early in the afternoon rather than risk wiping them out in the final round of the first week of Daytona testing.Robin Pemberton, NASCAR'S technical boss, worked the Daytona International Speedway garage hard in trying to analyze the issue, which has put a damper on testing. Gordon said he wouldn't be surprised if NASCAR didn't order teams to switch to smaller 13-gallon fuel cells (from the current 18-gallon cells) in order to force more frequent pit stops.Crew chiefs weren't receptive to that, calling it "not a solution," and suggesting that the International Speedway Corp. may have to repave the bumpy asphalt track, something that obviously can't be done in time for SpeedWeeks next month.Some drivers said they were confident there would be no such tire issues for the 500, but others said they were a bit more worried."I think it will only get better," Jeff Gordon said. "It shouldn't get any worse than this. But it's certainly something we're looking at. We know these cars are harder on right-side tires. So we're being on the cautious side, but it's mainly because there's not enough rubber on the track."Crew chiefs said that one part of the problem might be that the tires are too hard and too thick, building up excessive heat and blistering. And some crew chiefs said they've told their drivers to back off, because of the tire problems.John Darby, the Sprint Cup tour director, said that the worries were overblown."I would label it as 'no issues' right now," Darby said. "Some teams are still adjusting to the tire; it is a new tire here. And remembering what we've seen here (with tires) every year for this test, I'm much happier with what I'm seeing here than with what I might have seen four or five years ago."There are some indications of some teams blistering tires. But that's easily repairable, and the teams can do it. Goodyear doesn't have to do it."Goodyear's Rich Heinrich, the company's top trackside engineer, said he isn't overly concerned, blaming the issues on a combination of a relatively "unrubbered" track and crews using too much camber -- the angle at which the tire sits on the track. Camber helps a car turn in the corners, but too much camber will wear a tire unevenly on the straightaways.Some crews said they thought that Goodyear brought the wrong tires here."They're just not durable enough," one crew chief said.Others pointed to the chassis geometry of NASCAR's new car, which has an extra 100 pounds on the right side of the cars exacerbating the problems.Steve Hmiel, the technical director for Chip Ganassi's team, said, "It's a different car, different geometry ... you could look at it and say it was caused by camber, but then teams say they need the camber to make the car turn."Daytona is green right now, and it will be slicker when we come back. So I don't look at it as a big deal."Richard "Slugger" Labbe, Jacques Villeneuve's crew chief, is a little more worried."This tire is new to everyone here, and it's not just the right-front but also the right-rear blistering too," Labbe said. "In the past, we've known the tires take a beating here in testing and drafting but that things get better when we come back for the race."Everyone expected it ... so we'll just have to see how it goes next week...."But we know Goodyear is not going to make another tire, so we'll just have to adapt."Ken Howes, the field boss for car owner Rick Hendrick, said that Casey Mears' crash Tuesday, after blowing a tire, was a setback, but not a serious one. Tire problems, Howes said, "aren't unusual this time of year. Probably some people are pushing a little too much on camber. But by the time the race comes, we'll figure it out."Everyone is learning. The car of tomorrow has less camber, and the geometry is different, so it will take a while for everyone to understand. But there are a lot of smart people here, and they'll catch on pretty quickly, I expect."(Contact Mike Mulhern at mmulhern@wsjournal.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)