Building a tire that is capable of the demands and the diversity of the NASCAR Cup Series is a very difficult project. For the majority of the past five decades, Goodyear has been the premier tire company in NASCAR.
However, this past weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway saw an array of tire issues that have many in the industry concerned. There was also some chatter about the tire after both short track races in 2022 have resulted in lackluster events with little passing.
With that said, is it time for NASCAR to look to add a different tire manufacturer? Bryan Davis Keith and Vito Pugliese debate whether or not it’s time.
Change is Needed
History has a funny way of repeating itself. Take this column. We at Frontstretch tackled this exact question 14 years ago.
14 years later, my opinion has not changed, even if the circumstances surrounding Goodyear’s latest issues are different. No, the tire woes that impacted Sunday’s Cup Series race at Kansas did not incur wrath like they did in 2008, when Tony Stewart called the Eagles he raced on at Atlanta Motor Speedway “the most pathetic racing tire.” But there’s no doubting that the tires were an issue at Kansas, rather than an asset or even something that just needed to work.
It’s hardly surprising. Goodyear is still, 14 years later, playing with itself when it comes to making NASCAR’s national touring series tires. It has no competition and therefore no motivation to get better, innovate, etc.
When you can rightly say you’re the official tire of NASCAR, it’s not like tire failures and incidents resulting from them are going to be a problem. After all, they’re the official tire of a sport whose own advertising can’t go more than a few seconds without replaying a spectacular crash.
The funny thing is when I wrote about this 14 years ago, NASCAR racing was a in similar situation, as that was the first full season campaigning the “Car of Tomorrow.” And just like today with the Next Gen,…
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