Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407250034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After failing to win in 16 consecutive races, Hoosier had lost momentum. The tire war had become a non-story.
Now the company has reclaimed its supporting role in the 31-act play known as the NASCAR Winston Cup series. And Hoosier has served notice it may well be able to steal the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the most prestigious prize offered in stock car racing since Bill France opened the gates of Daytona International Speedway in 1959.
But Bodine, who was scheduled to be at Indy today for a final Hoosier tire test (`We've got a little thing we want to try'') says his Pocono victory means nothing at Indianapolis, despite some similarities in the tracks.
``No one has the upper hand at Indy,'' Bodine said. ``None has any history there. All of what Goodyear learned about Indy cars there, you can't use that.
``What's interesting is that ... the track is finally getting some rubber on it. That track has never had any rubber on it. Indy cars use hard tires and have so much downforce, they just grind the rubber off into powder. We're laying rubber down. So the track has changed every time we've gone there.
``That's why we're going this last time so Bob [Newton] can zero in on what he needs. That's one advantage he has. He can wait until [today] to start making tires.''
Such is not the case for Goodyear.
``Well, about all I can say is we've already made our commitment to the Brickyard tire based on testing, which we're very pleased with. Now it's just waiting to see what happens,'' Goodyear racing director Leo Mehl said Tuesday.
As for the loss at Pocono, Mehl said: ``We used the same tire at Pocono last month, which had worked very successfully. We have 16 wins, and this was just one race in a long season. We plan to run different tires every race and other new things are under way.''
TALLADEGA WEEKEND: Before the historic trip to the Brickyard is another visit to Talladega. This weekend's activities include a Grand National race Saturday, the first Grand National companion race on the Winston Cup circuit since Dover in early June.
Grand National qualifying for the pole position and first 25 starting spots is at 3:30 p.m. today. Winston Cup qualifying is 3 p.m. Friday.
MORE BRICKYARD 400: Michael Waltrip, who had the fastest Pontiac in a three-day General Motors test at Indy last week, said he's confident about the Goodyear tires.
``Goodyear brought us a tire capable of really fast speeds,'' he said during a Tuesday teleconference. ``Man, you can just hammer those corners. They might be equal, but I don't think [Hoosier] can be any better.
``But I would concern myself more with weather and temperature changes. That concerns me more than tires,'' Waltrip said.
``The main problem I see, and I think NASCAR should address this, is that qualifying begins at 3 p.m. and there are going to be 80 cars there. That means there could be a difference between 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock in the time between the first guy going out and the last guy. And that's not fair, because the track is just so much faster in the evening.''
Whoever picks 78th or so in the qualifying draw, ``it doesn't matter who that guy is, there's a pretty good chance he's going to outrun you,'' Waltrip said. ``I just wish NASCAR would step up and look out for the guys who run these deals week in and week out.''
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB