Earlier at the Texas Motor Speedway, there were a lot of wrecks and tire issues. This obviously angered many NASCAR drivers, particularly veterans like Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Hamlin launched a rather scathing attack at NASCAR and even tire supplier, Goodyear. This was all in response to platitudes issued by Goodyear director, Greg Stucker.
According to Stucker, there have been many issues with the right rear tires. He even noted that similar problems cropped up at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, earlier in the year. Stucker insisted that they are working with the teams to get to the bottom of the issues. This is especially in terms of car settings, air pressures, cambers, suspensions, and more.
No excuses except for the 10 you listed besides yourself
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 26, 2022
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He knows that drivers have differing racing styles and some are more aggressive than others, so it is a factor. As a result, he and Goodyear are trying to figure out how these are affecting the various teams. Of course, there were drivers who did not face many problems, but it does not take away from the ones who did.
What else did Stucker say and how did Denny Hamlin respond?
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Stucker continued, “We ran the first 40 laps of the race without problem until we had a caution. That was not terribly late, so I’m not going to say that but it’s definitely in the ballpark. I think it’s dependent, I think we’ve got a different race right now than when we started. With the conditions and the red flag.”
“We’re running considerably faster than what we were before. So all those factors come into play. The resin, I think, has kept the race track extremely fast. There’s very little tyre fall off, when the bottom’s not working, the guys can move up. All those factors play into it. No excuses, we’re just trying to find the facts and figure out what exactly is going on.”
Of course, Hamlin was far from convinced by the Goodyear boss’ explanations. He sarcastically tweeted, “If you’re thinking that maybe NASCAR will look into someone else for tires, keep dreaming. GY pays them a fat check so they are allowed to gouge the teams each week.”
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