The two NASCAR Sprint Cup practices are in the books at Kansas Speedway and the tires which Goodyear brought in for Saturday’s 5-Hour Energy 400 are getting thumbs up from the competitors.
That’s good news for NASCAR, the speedway, Goodyear and competitors after some uneven results last fall at Kansas.
“Whatever they (Goodyear) are doing, is working,” Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards said Friday.
Said Richard Childress Racing driver Ryan Newman, “I think they (Goodyear) have, at least at this point, made a good decision on the tire they brought.”
Edwards said he was not sure about the wear of the tires. He just didn’t check into it with his team.
But Newman said, “I think our longest run was 10 laps. Based on our tire wear, everything looks really good.”
Last fall, many of the problems which surfaced occurred to the right side rubber on the 3,400-pound Cup cars.
Goodyear returned to Kansas with new tires for that side of the cars this weekend. The left-side tires are the same as last fall’s.
Also being discussed in the wake of the two practices – which were led by rookie Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing and three-time series champion Tony
Stewart respectively – were the speeds the cars were logging. Nineteen drivers topped the 190 mph mark in the second practice.
“I will say this, that is the fastest I have ever gone through the corner here,” Edwards said. “It is extremely fast.”
Newman agreed, saying, “I think it’s the fastest we’ve ever been here; at least it feels like it to me here at this race track.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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