Published: July 26, 2009 10:55 pm      

RIVERS: Goodyear turns jeers into cheers

What a difference a year makes.

This time last year, Goodyear was in damage-control mode, trying to explain why its tires made the 2008 Brickyard 400 resemble a series of 10-lap heat races. On Sunday, Goodyear earned positive reviews for its new product.

An 11-month testing effort followed the 2008 race and included seven tests at Indianapolis — three last fall, two this spring prior to the Indy 500 and two in June. In all, Goodyear worked with 30 drivers and logged more than 14,000 miles on the famed Brickyard in their testing effort.

The new right-side tire (code D-4252) features a new tread compound that utilizes a different formulation strategy to address the high-wear characteristics of the Speedway and help “rubber in” the track while maintaining performance and heat dissipation. An interesting fact is that NASCAR specs require inner liners on all four tires when running at ovals greater than one mile in length. The air pressure in those inner liners should be 12 to 15 psi greater than the outer tire.

On Friday, practice at the track was all about the tires. Officials were wondering if the practice runs would be long enough to determine if the tires would last. Kurt Busch offered his opinion, saying “It will be interesting because you don’t want to be the first guy to make the long runs, so you’re going to wait for the track to rubber-up and the tires to develop a pattern and see how it all shakes out. It’s really learn-as-you-go at Indy.”

Jimmie Johnson offered some positive remarks, saying “The overall feeling is that they spent a lot of time and money and effort to get the tire right and they were able to do it.”

When asked about the importance of having a good show at the Brickyard this year, Johnson went on to say “You know it’s really important. I think with Goodyear and the effort they’ve put in to correct the tire and make a tire that works for this car because it’s not all Goodyear’s fault. Certainly the tire gave up [in 2008] but the car is different than what we’ve had in the past. They made a huge effort and spent a lot of time testing and they knew they didn’t have the right situation last year and wanted to prove to the fans they could get it right.”

Johnson is right. A company like Goodyear has major roots in auto racing and if it can’t get it right at a place like IMS, it should consider sticking to consumer tires. It appears, however, that was not an option in the Goodyear labs. Redemption was in order and Goodyear delivered the right tire to Indy to accomplish that.

“Goodyear did a great job with the tires. That's for sure,” Carl Edwards said. “I can't imagine how much money they spent to come out here and make this a great, safe race for all of us.”

By the time the checkers fell over Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet on Sunday, it was obvious the tire Goodyear brought was a true champion in its own right. Perhaps the most consistent tire made for super-speedways in recent years, Goodyear has found a winning compound.

• Tim Rivers may be reached by e-mail at timzoid@sbcglobal.net.