In the first half of the first half of this season, NASCAR races were plagued by tire issues. Not only were the teams still figuring out the Next Gen car, a process that was leading to unreliable, (bad) unpredictable racing, but the tires giving up on the cars randomly during the races weren’t exactly helping their own case either.
This led to several teams and fans criticizing Goodyear, the official tire supplier of the sport for their products, with many fans even calling for them to be sacked and replaced by another tire manufacturer.
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However, considering the recent report about Goodyear, NASCAR fans will once again lose their heads. In fact, they have. They’re pissed.
Because according to journalist Bob Pockrass, Goodyear will more or less continue as the official tire sponsor of the sport from this year onwards as well.
“Their deal is up after this season and they are talking about renewing. I would think if there was any planned change, a new tire company would already have had to start testing so I wouldn’t anticipate any change,” he tweeted.
Do you think we could ever see two tire companies again? Tire wars would be awesome!
— Jeremy Kutz (@JeremyKutz9) July 8, 2022
No one wants to see a return to the tire wars, but the long term deal with Goodyear has only brought rock hard tires and terrible racing.
If only one tire manufacturer is going to be allowed, then the deals should be short term, maybe even just a year at a time.
— Tommy Zed 🇺🇦 (@TommyZed34) July 8, 2022
That is ashame, I don’t think Goodyear is providing great racing tires. The drivers complain all the time and it’s obvious these tires are so hard they can’t feel the track!
— Dave Shiley (@ShileyDave) July 8, 2022
Would love to know roughly how much $ Goodyear coughs up to NASCAR in this exclusivity deal and how that $ is distributed. Would imagine that like most things in the sport the lion's share stays in NASCAR's pocket.
— ERH (@netwreck94) July 8, 2022
Would love to know roughly how much $ Goodyear coughs up to NASCAR in this exclusivity deal and how that $ is distributed. Would imagine that like most things in the sport the lion's share stays in NASCAR's pocket.
— ERH (@netwreck94) July 8, 2022
It's time for Goodyear to go
We either get rock hard tires and terrible racing
Or play-dough tires that create terrible racing and catastrophic tire failures. They don't know how to create a tire that staggers at all— Fake Bristol Motor Speedway (@not_areal_track) July 8, 2022
I wish we would get somebody else cause Goodyear has never made a good racing tire
— Matthew Akers (@vtdiw) July 8, 2022
Goodyear tires are trash
— Cowboy Racer (@DCNC70) July 8, 2022
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NASCAR crew chiefs had suggested the tire issue is being pushed unfairly
Jerame Donley, the crew chief at Petty GMS Motorsports, was asked earlier in the season whether he was surprised by the frequency of the tire failures before and during the races.
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The crew chief’s response was not only a sober one but also one that more or less put things into perspective.
via Getty
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – JANUARY 15: Erik Jones tests the Next Gen car at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
“I think everybody is pushing the issue there,” Donley said. “Every week you’re looking at wheel loads, cambers, pressures, tires. It doesn’t surprise me that people are continuing to push the issue there because of its grip and its speed.”
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“It’s nothing new from what we’ve done in years past, it’s just this car with the independent rear suspension, it definitely highlights that left-rear sensitivity more than it ever has.”
