After 5 long years, NASCAR made its way back to Iowa. And with it came Goodyear’s big ‘blistering’ surprise. Although both the Cup and Xfinity cars acted errant during practice on a fresh new repave of the ⅞ mile short track, the HyVee Perks 250 Xfinity race on Saturday revealed a glowing problem, almost as bright as the night lights of Bristol – mysteriously unpredictable tire issues.

Sam Mayer’s season’s second victory for JR Motorsports was unfortunately overshadowed by over 70% of the yellow flags waved due to teams magically blowing up their Goodyear Eagles. Even more intriguingly, most tire problems occurred around the new asphalt of the partially repaved racetrack around Turns 2 and 4. If one did not know any better, this trend for race teams in Iowa could be termed another circumstantial outing, courtesy of the season’s tire manufacturer. However, the exclusivity of tire-related problems at the Xfinity Iowa race has yet again cast NASCAR’s rubber partners in a negative light.

Goodyear’s “unique” tire for Iowa fails to deliver… or does it?

The woes started early on Friday when last week’s Sonoma race winner Shane van Gisbergen crashed into the wall during practice. Those fortunes were to bother Cup Series drivers like Christopher Bell and even Iowa double aspirant Ross Chastain, who finished P9 in DGM Racing’s #92 Chevrolet on Saturday. As if to provide a sneak peek of the potential consequences awaiting the premier tier’s 18″ slicks for the Iowa Corn 350 on Sunday, its second division’s 15″ radial sisters caused 6 out of the race’s 9 accidental cautions at the Hy-Vee Perks 250.

From SVG’s Kaulig teammate AJ Allmendinger facing a right front blowout around Lap 33 to the only other Cup Series driver in the field, John Hunter Nemechek, losing a left front tire with just 4 laps to go, the evidence was plentiful. Even lap leader Chandler Smith, who swept both stages, was not safe from the tire mystery at Iowa. After starting the final stage in third, Smith’s #81 JGR Supra mysteriously dropped its pace to finish just inside the Top 10 in P8. If that wasn’t enough, Justin Allgaier, the last person in the current field to win on Iowa’s previous surface in 2018, also blew a right front tire mid-race. Austin Hill & Jeb Burton were the other notable names who brought out the yellow due to freak tire incidents.

Additionally, Goodyear’s official tire notes for the 250-lap Xfinity race suggest their “right-side tire is unique to Iowa” and that teams have used the “left-side tire at both Phoenix and Richmond already this season.” This adds an additional layer to Iowa’s blowout mystery since almost all the drivers who experienced a flat did so, mainly with the ‘unique’ tires on the right side of their vehicle. Combine that with the tire-shredder-esque nature of Iowa’s brand-new repave and the answers are certainly thin over what could have caused the unpredictability on Saturday.

To throw another wrench into this asphalt enigma, the official Twitter handle of Goodyear Racing informed fans during the HyVee Perks 250 that “NASCAR has allowed Xfinity Series teams an extra set of tires for todays race at @iowaspeedway. They now have 5 sets of Goodyear Eagles for the 250 laps.” Many questioned exactly what could warrant an extra set of slicks if Goodyear had already predetermined the perfect tire package for NASCAR’s return to the Hawkeye State after a five-year hiatus.

Regardless, the relentless nature of criticism within the stock car racing community tore down in ways much worse than that on Iowa’s tire debacle. Some would even smile to know that this Iowa experience is being christened as “Bristol 2.0,” courtesy of the riddle-worthy tire fall-off on recent display. But those reasons would take away any smile faster than it manifested due to its potentially far-reaching circumstances.

NASCAR fans erupt on social media over “Bristol-lite”

After the first pit cycle in Stage 1, Sam Hunt Racing took to Twitter to update fans with a picture of Corey Heim’s first run tires from the #26 Toyota. The depleted state of the rubber led many fans and experts to notice big blisters the size of a human palm on two of the four tires in the attached image. Steven Taranto of CBS Sports reposted the Tweet to inform fans: “This was after a 35-lap run in the Xfinity race.”

Some informed fans were reluctant to buy into any external narratives. Instead, this demographic’s opinion on the whole issue could be summarized via one comment that read very candidly: “Blistering of tires is not tire wear! Blistering is caused by tire heat, poss camber. Shredding/grating is usually caused by rough track. We will see what Goodyear says. New asphalt is the bane of tire makers!”

Another fan rhetorically questioned Goodyear with a condescending inquiry stating, “How do you make a tire that has zero wear but also randomly explodes…” Others saw the bigger picture of the unintended tire ‘blow-off’ and derived some due positives. One diehard explained it best in a supportive Tweet directed to the primary organizers of Iowa’s high-speed unpredictabilities, writing, “Nascar /Goodyear have solved the issues with racing and lack of passing. Tires that wear out halfway thru a fuel run. Drivers slow down if you want to save tires. Use the Xtra power to pass. BRING BIAS BACK.”

The Daily Downforce’s decision to join these discussions online revealed an interesting perspective on the mystery. “This is Spring Bristol-lite here at Iowa. It’s been dramatic watching all these tire issues!” opined their official Twitter handle. But to conclude, this fan wrote later to express their point of view, in what could be termed the best take on the whole matter: “The racing at Iowa…good. The tire wear…not so much.” This should also serve as a reminder that the potential for improvement only puts its foot down on the very first rung with this inaugural weekend after five long years of no NASCAR in Iowa. 

Will the Iowa Corn 350 Cup race bring about more of the same issues on Sunday? We find out at 7 PM EST on the USA Network.