Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 17, 1994 TAG: 9402170171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
After the Winston Cup garage closed at 5 p.m. Wednesday, top NASCAR officials were in a closed-door meeting discussing the issue.
"There's nothing to announce tonight," NASCAR spokesman Andy Hall said. "We'll be meeting some more in the morning, but there's nothing to announce tonight."
The existing rule says drivers must race on the same brand of tire they used to qualify.
But Winston Cup practice sessions here this week have made it apparent that most of the Hoosier-shod cars, while faster than the Goodyear cars for the first few laps on a new set of tires, become unstable on longer runs.
And that has led Goodyear drivers to raise safety questions about the Hoosiers.
Harry Gant, Rick Mast, Greg Sacks and other Hoosier drivers have had handling problems at longer distances, and Sacks said Wednesday he still hasn't been able to get his Ford running properly.
On the other hand, Hoosier driver Jeff Burton said: "In drafting, they seem fine. We were a little loose, but nothing we couldn't adjust on the chassis. I don't anticipate any trouble."
"I think they made the tire just a little bit too hard," said one car owner using Hoosier tires, who asked that his name not be used. "We just haven't been able to find a [chassis] setup to make our driver comfortable."
After about five laps, the tires lose some of their grip and the car tends to slide out of the groove and up the track, he said. That could be a real safety problem in the draft, the owner said, adding, "You can't have two different speeds of tires in the draft."
The concern was heightened when Geoff Bodine cut a tire and spun in turn two Wednesday afternoon during practice. Bodine's team reportedly also found two other cut tires during the day.
"I must have hit some debris and cut a tire down," he told a track reporter. As far as whether the Hoosier cars can beat the Goodyear cars today in the 50-lap qualifying races, Bodine said: "We don't know. The Goodyears were good in the Busch Clash, but this is a different race and we'll have to see what happens here. We don't know what's going to happen yet."
Another top Hoosier driver, Darrell Waltrip, fielded tire questions from reporters all day. Many of those questions were about an unsubstantiated report on a computer network's motor sports forum suggesting that Waltrip, while publicly reporting no problems, was privately concerned about the tires and was being forced to use them by his sponsor.
That prompted Waltrip to issue a two-page statement saying he was pleased with the performance of the Hoosiers and denying that his sponsor, Western Auto, was forcing him to use them.
But Waltrip also said: "We haven't made any long runs. Basically, the 125 is going to be a tire test."
Waltrip said he thinks gusty winds have "been the biggest factor so far" in several bad In drafting, [Hoosier tires] seem fine. We were a little loose, but nothing we couldn't adjust on the chassis. I don't anticipate any trouble. Jeff Burton Winston Cup driver crashes on Hoosier-shod cars, including those that took the lives of Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr.
Waltrip, however, was one of those who met with NASCAR officials late Monday afternoon. As he left the meeting, he said it's no big deal even if the Goodyears are better or more stable than the Hoosiers during long runs on the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
"What if they are?" he said. "We're not blowing out tires. We're not tearing up tires. So what? There's been tracks we've gone to where Goodyears didn't work . . . either, and we didn't quit. Why should we let the competition dictate whether we have a tire problem or not."
Most of the top drivers are using Goodyears. And after enduring the January test sessions, where the Hoosiers clearly were faster, the Goodyear drivers have become confident in the past several days that when the real racing begins, they'll have no trouble beating the Hoosier drivers.
Ernie Irvan, the Goodyear driver who has been the most vocal critic of the Hoosiers, was asked Wednesday whether any of the Hoosier drivers would finish in the top 15 in today's races.
"No," he said. "Not a chance."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB