CUP: Grip Is A Concern

Sprint Cup

CUP: Grip Is A Concern

With a sunny day and a high temperature of 75 degrees forecast for the Atlanta area, some drivers are concerned about maintaining grip...

Tom Jensen | Posted March 07, 2009 Harrisburg, NC

Goodyear Racing tires are stacked up during practice for the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Atlanta Motor Speedway presents a unique set of problems in the handling department, being a phenomenally fast, 1.54-mile oval that now has an aging and abrasive surface to it. Laps start off extremely fast here but quickly slow down, as tires wear and handling deteriorates, making the 3,450-pound Sprint Cup cars a handful to drive.

After last year’s Kobalt Tools 500, drivers complained bitterly about how difficult it was to drive NASCAR new-generation race car at AMS, with Tony Stewart famously giving Goodyear a vicious post-race tongue lashing.

This year, Goodyear has brought a new tire combination for Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. The tire set was decided on after a winter tire test here with Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish and Scott Speed. According to Goodyear, the tire maker “has made construction changes on both sides of the car for improved handling … the other change is to the left-side compound, which is softer for improved grip … the right-side compound is the same one used last fall.”

Still, with a sunny day and a high temperature of 75 degrees forecast for the Atlanta area, some drivers are concerned about maintaining grip at a track where Mark Martin’s pole-winning speed for the Kobalt Tools 500 was 187.045 miles per hour.

“With the sun out, it is for this speed of race track and everything, it is — I don't know what words to use — under the conditions I think it is very treacherous,” said Martin, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS. “I think the think you have to do is have the best race car on the track and then you don't have to drive it as hard so then it feels like it is handling good because if you drive it as hard as it will go, it is going to be all over the race track and feel horrible.”

Martin, who on Friday claimed his first pole in 281 races dating back to May 5, 2001, was not alone in his concerns about handling in Sunday’s race. “Oh we’re going to have (tire) issues but I don’t know if they’re issues with wear,” said four-time Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon after Friday’s practice round. “It’s called grip, just trying to get a hold of the race track. You know they did this tire test here in December and I heard the track (temperature) was like 50 degrees, it’s over 90 today and … there just really was not much grip out there at all. I was surprised because I kept hearing this tire was supposed to have more grip in it.”

Despite the lack of grip, Gordon said he was looking forward to Sunday’s race. “I believe this track, and this car, especially with these temperatures, could possibly be the most difficult track in the world to build a tire for. It’s almost beyond what they can do,” Gordon said. “We have our hands full. It’s gonna be a white-knuckle survival kind of race. I’m actually kind of excited about it.”

Stewart, too, said that traction was down from prior years. “We don’t have a ton of grip,” Stewart said. “In race trim I think it’ll be better, but we don’t have quite as much grip as we’ve had in past.”

The one driver most comfortable with all the slipping and sliding appears to be Carl Edwards, who won last fall’s race here and has three victories in nine career Cup starts at Atlanta. “The track is real slippery,” Edwards said. “It’s pretty wild. That’s fun, though. I like this place when it’s like that. It’s a track that you can run three-wide on, but, at the same time the car moves around quite a bit. It’s totally different from a place like Charlotte or Vegas, where the car is really nailed down. You can get a little aggressive with the wheel here. It’s fun.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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Tom Jensen

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