Stewart defends his comments against Goodyear
Quote selected text Published March 13th, 2008 in NASCAR News
Tony Stewart defended his harsh criticism of the tires Goodyear brought to Atlanta last weekend and said that it was time to speak out after years of closed door meetings failed to produce a solution.
“You finally get to the point where, if you get frustrated enough, now it’s gone from doing things in a nice, calm manner to I want to make sure I get somebody’s attention about this,” Stewart said Wednesday. He had called the tires “the most pathetic racing tire I’ve ever been on in my professional career.”
Some of Stewart’s critics dismissed the remarks, saying Stewart was just being his usual outspoken self. But many drivers have agreed that the tires were subpar, including former champions Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett.
“I think we are all pretty frustrated. Tony took it to the fullest,” Kevin Harvick said. “But he’s definitely right in the way the tire stuff has worked out. None of us really enjoy the way that we had to race.”
Stewart said all the drivers were fed up with the hard tires at Atlanta, and he just drew the most attention because he was the most outspoken in his criticism.
“Everybody talked about (it),” he said. “Just nobody got real vocal about it until after the race. When you’re stuck in a car for 3 1/2-4 hours and it drives like crap, you’re going to be upset about it.
“Guys are screaming at their crew chiefs that it was the worst car they’ve ever driven. Well, it wasn’t the crew chief’s fault. It wasn’t the team’s fault. These guys spend millions of dollars to build these cars. It was the tire we were running and tires should never, ever be the deciding factor in a race.”
More at AP
Bookmark to:
- Stewart meets with and apologizes to Goodyear
- Gordon thinks Stewart went overboard on criticism of Goodyear
- Goodyear slams Stewart back, likely won’t be invited to another tire test
- Stewart blasts Goodyear once again
- Stewart on Goodyear:’…they should just pull out of this sport’
I can’t agree more with Tony’s statement. Tires should never be the reason your car runs straight or all over the place.
Tires should just be 1 thing in the overall setup.
Nothing can be more frustrating than watching your lap times fall off so fast every lap from the get go as these Goodyear’s did.
no stick-um no fun…
Closed door meetings? It sounds like the drivers have tried to handle this in a different way and it has not worked.
Tony did what he had to do for his career.
I said that the need to let someone come up to the plate besides Goodyear there tires have been complained about for a while and nobody will do anything, have a tire war best tire gets the deal.
Goodyear has let a situation develop that is getting more out of their control every day. Tony has not faltered in his position one bit and it seems that NASCAR and Goodyear are a bit dumbfounded about how to resolve this.
I wonder what NASCAR’s next step will be to curb this snowball?
Even Gordon who said that Tony’s comments were possibly too harsh agrees that what Tony said is correct.
u just HAVE to love tony.
NASCAR’S next step will probably be to “find” something wrong with Tony’s car and confiscate it at Bristol!
Bristol will be a destruction derby on Goodyear donuts. There won’t be enough of the car to confiscate after the Bristol stomp.
Rick wrote:
You might be right rick! It will be bad if they do and I think the fans should let nascar know it.
Im glad hes not backing down from what he said he shouldnt,its a safety issue I mean NASCAR didnt have a problem at all with gordon an hendrick blasting smith an the deal at vegas but I guess if tony speaks up on a safety issue its wrong.
Goodyear doesn’t have to say anything or answer Tony at all. They said what they said and they are working on it. Its not like they can snap their fingers and POOF! all kinds on new tires. Heck it takes probaly close to a month to make enough tires for one Sprint/Nationwide weekend. He can complain all he wants, but that won’t get anything done faster then it is possible for it to get done.
Also I like how Tony lies and says None of the drivers liked the tires. Did he hear any of the post race interviews…? Matter of fact did the media hear any of the post race interviews? There were several drivers that said they liked the tires, and a few drivers that said they could care less what the tires are like because all 43 competitors have to race with the same tires,
Lee88-20 wrote:
I would have never thought of that! If Gordon can moan about the walls on the racetrack and NASCAR won’t say a word, then tony should be able to voice his opinion on the tires and Both are safety issues!! Very hypocritical of NASCAR if you ask me!!
Who liked the tires?
Most of the drivers with a dirt track background (except for Tony, Jeff & Jr (jr raced dirt didn’t he?))
Sam wrote:
AND the sport!!!!!!!
Sorry, that was me who quoted Sam, not NASCAR fan
Yeah, Jrs first car was a dirt track car.
I haven’t seen one article that a driver said he liked the tires. A few liked it at first but not for 500 miles.
Kyle bush won and did not like the tires or the car.
Was carl edwards?
Was it
Sam wrote:
I haven’t seen any articles, but in post race interviews there were drivers that said it was fun because they could slide around and stuff.
Carl pretty much said that he didn’t mind the tires because everybody had to run them, and then he went on to say “But If I had run 20th all day I would not have liked them”
I think Jeff Burton was also one of the ones that said the tires didn’t make a difference to him.
But its just like anything else, some people will like it, some people will hate it, and some people could care less… l0l
And remember Kyle won last year in the COT and he didn’t like that either…
l0l
This post is from “The person known as Bob.” Yes Im now a registered person with a new name but the same old Bob…
Anybody that drove that race for 500 miles and liked those tires must have had such a bad car that they didn’t realize the problem was the tires or they were just not trying to race hard…
Or they like a loose race car, or they had fun pretending they were back on the dirt track…. l0l
for what they get paid to drive, shut up and drive.if not i will drive for half the money.the cars are driving like the cars did 20 years ago. we all cried for old time racing well were getting there now. so driver learn how to really drive or go home. 1000’s of people would cut off there arm to do what you do.
for what they get paid to drive, shut up and drive.if not i will drive for half the money.the cars are driving like the cars did 20 years ago. we all cried for old time racing well were getting there now. so driver learn how to really drive or go home. 1000’s of people would cut off there arm to do what you do.
first of all, its not just the tires, its the suspension on the new cars and the way they are using the tires and air pressures as a effort to correct the spring rates on these cars. they need to fix the way these new cars drive and they need to fix the way these cars are riding basically on the ground, its not just the tire.
Howie your right but from what I read the crew chiefs are saying that so far the area to fix between loose and tight is VERY small. As the track changes they can’t keep up so tire preasures are all they have to work with. 1/2 round of wedge there and a rubber there is not working with the springs they have to use…
wrote:
For what it’s worth Knowing how to drive is not a problem for the drivers it’s getting the car set up so it will DRIVE… Im sure Tony, Dale JR., Bush and even Gordo could drive 10 times better than any body you would have in mind…
I think what Howie is saying is the same thing you are. With the current setup of the suspension it is part of the factor of how these cars were driving along with the tires.
This year is the first year at the majority of these tracks, and NASCAR has said they do not want to change the COT till it runs at every track. And NASCAR is being consistent with that. I fully expect a bunch of changes to be made for the 2009 season. Remember this is a learning year for the teams, the drivers, Goodyear (& even Sunoco in a way) as well as NASCAR.
get rid of the chassis stops an the bump stops onthe shocks. thats wat messin everything up. it puts so much load into the tire that it makes goodyear have to bring a sucky tire. not that im completely defending goodyear.. they need to get their mess straight too. if nascar hated coil binding so much then why did they allow bump stops. the car reacts the same to both. drop the bump stops. if you dont want ure splitter hittin the ground then put more spring in the car. no bump stops means less load on tires. then a softer tire can be used. AND NO TIRE THAT MAKES A CAR LOOSE ON THE STRAIGHTAWAYS IS A SAFE TIRE. theres no way to explain around that.
Scott wrote:
HEAR, HEAR!!!
strech wrote:
Actually if Nascar would let them the teams could get together and fix the car but them control freaks wont allow anything that makes sense. I’m not talking about the teams fixing them seperately either.
Could a set of recaps be any worse? (lol) We used to run Goodyear recaps because they were cheap and lasted fairly long on a 2,900lb car, not a 3,400 pounder. With all the technological advances in the tire business, I can’t believe they’re having this big a problem. If we give the tire business to the countrymen that make Toyotas, I’m sure they’d correct it. And then Goodyear would really be pissed. Do any of you guys have an idea of when and how this problem will be solved? I want to hear what you guys think.
NASCAR was patting themselves on the back for the over half a decade of development for the new car and it has been plagued with problems since its been put into competition that arguably shouldn’t exist… The toxic foam in the doors, carbon monoxide build up due to exhaust problems, vision problems caused by the wing, extremely top heavy and NASCAR allowed tire designs to be used that are not properly suited for the handling characteristics of the car… These are all safety issues. If Goodyear can’t change the tire then NASCAR should have built a different car. It’s that simple.
NASCAR originally said years ago that the new car will improve competition. Time moved on and they said the focus was safety at all costs. The car came out and it’s not that safe and not that competitive. Atleast it’s hard to drive and the real drivers are the one’s who are consistently up front every week, but come on NASCAR and do your damn job. Stop focusing on the marketing and commercials. Focus on the competition and really care about the safety.
Arin wrote:
hahahahahahahahah good year donuts, hahahahahaha thats great
NASCAR originally said years ago that the new car will improve competition. Time moved on and they said the focus was safety at all costs. The car came out and it’s not that safe and not that competitive. Atleast it’s hard to drive and the real drivers are the one’s who are consistently up front every week, but come on NASCAR and do your damn job. Stop focusing on the marketing and commercials. Focus on the competition and really care about the safety.
EXACTLY
Not that safe? Jeff would have been dead in the old car after his wreck at Vegas.
And NASCAR has always cared about Marketing and Commercials, heck since Day 1 that NASCAR was around they focused on Marketing themselves non-stop.
Not what you say, but how you say it and if so bad to where a fan can sit there and watch their hands working and working and it’s not sticking and please don’t anyone cut off someone *jeff gordon, then your going to loose it and crash. And hard that man did. You know, safer car or not there is a point of no return and yet it all sits on two bags of air. I paused when Jr made the comment about the wear not being there after running hard on them. Yikes - plastic wheels buddy? There has to be a happy medium and yes, perhaps the delivery was not to everyone’s liking but in life if a professional working with society, you tend to listen beyond the ‘acting out’ and stay on topic. What is this a low media day - the repeating of chatty kathie doll syndrome is getting old folks. The issue is car and tires and a very BIG CORP leader in the world who probably knew there was a problem and let it roll anyway. Because it comes down to money. Drivers are like me and you. They are going to complain when trying to do their job and they just can’t. No he doesn’t have to do or say anything more. But he is and that is what troubles me most. And his timing. Toyota won, and I know he went to V lane and shook kyle’s hand, but he could of let it go, Toyota have it’s glory if for only one race. New Manufacturer done did it. All was resting on Tony’s head - remember last year. Tony doesn’t need Toyota, they need him. And Denny, Tony and CONGRATS Kyle have been delivering. But no…He just couldn’t do it. The pressure in that guy is of his own doing when he just can’t stop himself from going on and on about himself. He was validated in Vegas by many other professional drivers. Why dear lord can’t the man just say it and be done and when asked, smile and say hey guys, I’ve already answered that and stand by my own statement and convictions. It’s for you to disprove me now. Let the Media work - don’t take them on - loosing battle tony! I know, for a fact!
I shall pray hard because he is my favorite driver. I love Tony, not for what he says but what he does. And it’s good for racing. He drove his heart out in vegas, from the back towards the front AGAIN. He’s an force that knows his business and if tires suck, they do. Just like you and me, know your job and expect to get it done and when it doesn’t happen or no one is listening (you know they are but unwilling to do anything about it), the very same ‘high emotions’ come right out of all our mouths.
Done
Well strike one company off the list. Firestone has no current interest in supplying tires for NASCAR.
Wait and see what happens when the current contract expires. I think the Firestone boys are just being coy at this time. Firestone was big in NASCAR up until around the early 1970’s. I think they just want to see what happens next. Then again, they might not like the way the France family does business.
Fisha695 wrote:
That’s highly debatable. Jeff had an accident that was way worse at Pocono a year or two ago heading into turn 2 I believe. It was in the old car and it looked like a life ender, he was fine. I know it depends on how the energy is dissipated but come on, that Vegas wreck was akward and could have possibly resulted in injuries, but still wasn’t that bad. It just scared Gordon, don’t let Gordon scare you too.
The new car has had several problems that I can think of at the moment: poor visibility through the cars, poor planning/research in regards to the safety foam and the way the weight is distributed through the car, the exhaust system in the beginning and now Goodyear claims that this is the best tire they can make for this car. These are all safety problems.
NASCAR isn’t worried about competition, they’re worried about how many sponsors they can fit in the chase. They’re more worried about everyone just shutting up and not sayin anything is wrong. They don’t care about the reality, they’re just worried about perception. That wasn’t always the case. They seem too scared to take a step back to fix certain things, like that will be admitting that they made mistakes, instead they are constantly trying to polish a turd. If NASCAR was really trying to make their series right we wouldn’t even be having these conversations. We would be talking about the racing. Money, ego and everyone still alive witht the France last name is ruining big time stock car racing.
I was at that Pocono race, and I froze when he hit the wall because I thought I had just seen him Die. That was a scary wreck, and he was lucky. But remember that was also into the Safer Barrier, which took SOME of the “hit” out of it (only way I can think to describe it right now) and Vegas didn’t have that.
And remember the COT is still a learning process, it will and does have growing pains, and by year two (remember this is still kinda year 1 for that car) I think it’ll be a lot better. It was the same way when they switched to the previous style of car from the one before that.
You’re right about him hitting the SAFER barrier but that was possibly the worst non fatal wreck I have ever seen regardless.
NASCAR expects all the teams to do everything flawlessly. This car is not living up to anything NASCAR said it would accomplish. This is 2008 and after years of development NASCAR has thrown a car out there that has problems in areas that should have been looked at first. Guys are racing for a championship and their lives basically. If NASCAR would admit it’s mistakes then this would be different, but they don’t. They act like everything is fine and tell everyone else not to point out the problems. I understand they have an image to uphold but there needs to be substance behind that image. They are really lacking in credibility at this point.
I should have said worst non-fatal sudden stop wreck at that high of a speed. Bodine’s “fly and roll” at Daytona in the truck series and Waltrip’s wreck at Bristol were pretty bad.
hey gonesouth any person with half a brain can drive a race car. you put the drivers to high on the pedestal .i love nascar racing but i don’t like the drivers thinking there all that. when they are just like me and you. i drove open wheel mods for a while but my parents did not have the big money to get ahead in the racing world. we won a bunch of races with junk cars and used motors. let me remind you mods are lighter then sprint cup but they are also faster. there are thousands of kids on sat night tracks that are as good if not better then the high and mighty sprint cup cry babies of today.
We race ROC legal Asphalt modifieds weekly, I’m actually designing a few schemes right now to try and figure out what we are going to paint the car like.
wrote:
I was actually going to comment on this post and then I woke up.
wrote:
I take objection to just about every thing you said.
Lets start with “when they are just like you and me” 1st off they are NOT just like you and me, they made it to the top of stock car racing and not because they have 1/2 a brain as you stated it takes.
They made it because they were the among the best at what they were doing when they moved up. As much as I dislike Jeff Gordon he is a prime example of some one who with out big $$ but lots of talent can get into racing at any level he wanted. Im not like that are you??
Many a driver in Sprint Cup came from some form of open wheel whether it be Sprinters, Mods, Silver Crown, midgets etc… and they mostly started in junk cars as well.
The part I agree with you on is drivers like Busch (scrub) a prime example of a Kid that thinks he is all that as you said.
Most, granted not all of the drivers get my respect because they can and do MUCH more than wheel a car at 200+ a foot apart lap after lap.
Donny Lia the 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion was to have a ride in a BDR truck, but when he could only bring 3 Million dollars he didn’t get that ride, because BDR needed more money then that. I have a friend who is struggling to make it in ARCA, he runs good when he makes the races, and he has tons of skill, It is a low budget team ran out of his garage. Based off what he can do with a less then superb car, he could easily dominate in a top-notch car, but because he doesn’t have the millions of dollars to bring with him he won’t get a shot in a top-notch car.
You always heard rumblings that you have to pay the team owners to be able to drive in Champ Car and the IRL, well guess what, NASCAR and ARCA are like that now too, and there are Many Many outstanding talents out there across the country that will never get a chance because they don’t have the millions of dollars to bring with them, or because they are a White Male and not a Minority and/or Female (not a shot at anybody, but a shot at NASCAR reverse racism/sexism program)
So what you are saying is every driver in NASCAR bought his way in to the ride. Come on Fisha you know better than that. For every sob story you can relate there are a lot of drivers who get rides the old fashon way. They are Good and talent finds a way to play.
The deal on Minoritys is just plain wrong, How many are drivers in NASCAR at this time ? Name me more that 4 in all forms of nascar that came in with the diveresity program help. They are not coming outa the woodwork the take White Male jobs and you know it…
Never said that, never implied that. What I stated and implied is that more and more each year, you need to buy your ride. Its not really NASCARs fault, and its not really the teams fault, nor is it the drivers fault. Our Economy has just been in and out of the crarper so much of the past 5 or 6 years and there is no end in site, and because of that it has gotten to the point where you either need to be related to a good owner, or you need to bring your own money and buy the ride. Heck Jocko couldn’t even keep a ride because Its near impossible to get sponsors, even for a world champion, and he refused to buy his ride.
My point about the diversity program is something that many people on here and in other places will agree with me on. Look how many drivers are in the Diversity program… and then look at how many of them actually have the results over their career that justify them being in a Big money supported ride. Minorities should have no advantage over non-minorities for advancing in life, but for some reason it seems like because my great grandfather was racist (I’m not sure if he was, I never knew the man its just an example) it is ok for this generation to have to put up with reverse racism….. But that is not a debate for here in this story……
Fisha you still did not name me 4 or more drivers to prove your point but I accept your explanation as your view point I just don’t agree with you that it is that bad yet. I believe a Great driver will find a way to drive in NASCAR.
Jocko should have started with trucks and build a sponsor base to move up with. He didn’t try that had to make it happen, jus figured a world champ should get the red carpet treatment. Not so Jocko.
I wonder how much KB gave to Hendrick? A few years ago a great young driver got the opportunity to drive for a great owner/crew chief. He had won many races on the sportsman/bush level. Everyone thought he would dominate the cup circuit. So this owner/great crew chief gave this kid a ride and he flopped! It takes more than talent on the beginner levels of racing to make it in cup.
Just ask Casey Atwood.
gonesouthern wrote:
There is way more then 4 drivers out there that had tp/have to buy their ride, its not that ahrd to find with a little research.
As far as Jock, I think he wanted to race in the trucks or Nationwide series, but BDR wanted to throw him into Cup because they thought as an international superstar, and World Champ his cup presence would make sponsors throw them selves at the team.
And that is pretty evident by the fact that they told him “Unless you can bring a sponsor you are out of a ride”. If BDR really wanted to develop him, they’d put him in a Nationwide car or Truck or even one of those CASCAR cars, for some races till he finds Cup sponsorship.