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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
SPENCER: Equalized Tire Tests
Goodyear needs to exercise better judgment when it comes to selecting teams who comprise the tire testers...
Jimmy Spencer  |  Posted October 01, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
Jimmie Johnson ran roughshod over the competition for the win Sunday at Dover International Speedway and he did it on four Goodyear tires that were pretty familiar to him.

Johnson participated in Goodyear’s tire test at Dover a few weeks ago, as did Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished fourth, lending Johnson (and Montoya) a measurable but unnecessary advantage.

Not surprisingly, fellow Chase contender Denny Hamlin and others complained after the race that Johnson had an unfair leg up on the competition due to his extra track time in preparation for the second race in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup.

I have to agree with Hamlin. Goodyear needs to exercise better judgment when it comes to selecting teams who comprise the tire testers. The tire manufacturer should either take all 12 Chase contenders or none of them. Utilizing only a couple of organizations, especially the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, which needs no additional upper hand at Dover, isn’t fair to the others gunning for the Cup championship.

As far as the tires themselves go, Goodyear has done a great job this season after enduring some criticism and issues last year. They have one of the toughest jobs in the sport but have continued to improve their product, despite and alongside the challenge of building a tire suitable for the finicky new car. There have been very few tire failures this season.

But from a competition standpoint, these other teams have every right to be upset with Goodyear for not leveling the playing field in a tire test in preparation for a Chase race. Hamlin and others have every justification to complain about not being able to test because the opportunity lends a sizeable advantage.

When Johnson and his No. 48 team left the tire test, they didn’t know definitively if the particular tire they tested would be the one Goodyear would select for the race, but teams often can get a general idea of how things will shake out simply by watching how the various tires behave.

At the tire tests, each participating driver runs on a different tire, none of which are marked with codes. Teams set up their race cars the way they want and then run laps with the tire they are given. Drivers then provide feedback to Goodyear, which evaluates all data following the session and chooses or builds a tire from there. At a track like Dover, teams often log as many as 300 or 400 laps – almost an entire race’s worth of practice time. That’s a huge benefit that the other 39 or 40 other teams don’t enjoy.

A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is on the line and no team should be allowed an unfair advantage over another. I don’t care if Goodyear makes a rule that no or all Chase teams test for venues in the Chase, but they need to restructure their system to make it equitable across the board.

In this particular case, the test was held before the 12 Chase contenders were locked in at Richmond. Goodyear should have invited those who had a legitimate shot at making the playoffs, including Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, in addition to the other 11 teams. Give them all the option to test or not. And trust me - no one will turn down that offer because it’s so advantageous to have a couple hundred extra laps of practice before the race, especially nowadays with teams operating under the testing ban.

Let’s not, in effect, “lift” the testing ban for one or two Chase teams at this crucial point in the season. It’s time to make it fair for everyone - either ban them all or invite everyone to the next tire test.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it as an analyst on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
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