On The Wings of Goodyear?

Have you heard about the new state of the art hammer from Stanley Tools? It's superior to every other hammer in every way imaginable, and should never need to be replaced. One thing, though, it is recommended that you not strike any objects with force. Just tap them a little or the hammer could fail.

Or how about the new toothbrush from Oral-B? With a totally unique bristle pattern, and a strategically developed handle, this is the best toothbrush ever designed. However, brushing with vigorous strokes is discouraged, as it can shorten the life span of the brush.

These were the thoughts (the printable ones, anyway) that went through my mind when I heard Goodyear's explanation for the high number of tire failures at Pocono last Sunday. A Goodyear spokesman said - and I'm paraphrasing here, because I don't feel like looking up his exact quote - that there was nothing wrong with any of the tires, but rather the failures could be attributed to excessive use of camber, lower than recommended air pressure and hitting the curbs in the turns.

Two of those I can somewhat buy. Teams are well known for starting a set of tires with very low pressure, so no surprise there. Camber I question a little, because I can't imagine that teams were that aggressive on camber at this particular track to begin with. (For the uninitiated, camber speaks to the vertical alignment of the tires. At tracks with high banking, teams will set camber in a fashion where the front tires are leaning toward the inside of the track, with the idea that through the turns, the tires will make maximum contact with the pavement.) Two of the three turns at Pocono are basically flat, and the one that is banked isn't significantly so. I can go along with those two explanations, though.

But don't hit the curbs? Huh? News flash for Goodyear: those curbs are not new, and cars have been hitting them for as long as they've been there. Why should it have been such an issue this year? Maybe some of the blame lies with Goodyear after all, since this was a tire compound previously used only a couple times, and on tracks with higher banking? And how about good old NASCAR? Allowing the use of a tire with very little testing at this track on an "impound" race weekend was certainly not the brightest of moves.

So, what have we learned? We've learned that nothing is ever Goodyear's fault, basically. Anything that goes wrong is because of something the teams did, and NASCAR evidently agrees.

I can just imagine the instructions at the drivers' meeting before the Pocono race next month: "Okay, guys, let's go out there and have a fun, exciting and safe race. Race hard, but try not to go above 65 miles per hour if you can help it, don't hit the curbs and try to come to a complete stop before taking a turn. And for God's sake, when pitting, don't lock up your tires! Hit the car in front of you to help you slow down. These tires are fragile, guys, let's be careful out there."

I wonder if NASCAR has any interest in a new hammer?