IRL: Goodyear Makes Plans to Win Again at 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing'
14 May 1999
AKRON, Ohio-- Whoever said winning comes easy certainly had no idea of how Goodyear prepares for a race. For Goodyear, the effort to win takes thousands of hours of planning, tire development, testing, number crunching, production and shipping before heading to the race. Goodyear just makes winning look easy.The teams and drivers respect Goodyears ability to field a winning tire, and the winning effort has led Goodyear to victory in the first two Pep Boys Indy Racing League events this season and sees Goodyear-equipped drivers in the first six positions of the points standings.
For the 1999 Indianapolis 500, the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the effort started immediately following Eddie Cheever Jr.s triumphant win in the 1998 race. What made Cheevers victory even sweeter for Goodyear -- the companys 26th Indy 500 win in the past 31 years -- is that the next five drivers across the famous yard of bricks also were on Goodyear Eagle Racing Radials.
"Winning a race, no matter where it is held, is always our goal every time Goodyear goes racing," says Stu Grant, Goodyears general manager of worldwide racing. "Winning at Indy and capturing the top six spots, however, is and always will be an exhilarating experience no matter how many times we accomplish this significant feat."
Since Cheevers win, Goodyear engineers have been hard at work preparing for the 1999 Indianapolis 500. Testing started at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September 1998 -- before the Pep Boys Indy Racing League series had concluded -- and continued in October before winter set in. Testing resumed in March and concluded with the April open tests, where 1998 polesitter Billy Boat posted the fastest speed for Goodyear at 224.456 mph, with Scott Sharp, Mark Dismore and Cheever all posting 223 mph laps.
"After having a superior tire last year, it would have been natural for to Goodyear to sit back on their laurels, I guess," says Cheever. "But Goodyear being Goodyear, they have worked hard all year to come back to Indy looking for another victory.
"Tires are the only part of the car that touches the ground. Everything begins and ends on that little patch of rubber. It is not just about rubber; it is also about the people behind the rubber."
Indianapolis provides the Goodyear engineers with some challenges faced nowhere else on the IRL circuit. The low banking (9 degrees in the corners) requires more mechanical grip from the tire than at other speedways, including the high-banked tracks seen later this year at Texas, Atlanta and Dover. Also, a fast speed at Indianapolis is highly dependent on the weather. Variable winds and changing track temperatures throughout the day can either help or hurt a cars performance during a run.
"Indianapolis is one of the most challenging circuits for which Goodyear develops tires," says Paul Lauritzen, Goodyears operations manager for the IRL. "At every other track -- the one-mile ovals, the high-banked speedways -- Goodyear gathers information from similar tracks that aids in the development of the race tire. Indianapolis is unique in that it is the only 2.5-mile superspeedway we visit. Therefore, the testing we do at Indianapolis prior to the month of May is crucial to our Eagle tire selection process."
Lauritzen adds that Goodyear puts the same effort into the tire selection process at all IRL races, and that effort allowed Goodyear-equipped drivers Cheever and Scott Goodyear to take victories in the first two IRL races at Orlando, Fla., and Phoenix, Ariz., respectively. Entering Indy, Scott Goodyear (Panther Racing) leads the championship with 93 points, followed by Pagan Racings Jeff Ward (75 points), Cheever (63), Kelley Racing teammates Scott Sharp (61) and Mark Dismore (58) and Boat, running for A.J. Foyt Enterprises (54), all riding on Goodyear Eagle Racing Radials.
Other IRL regulars racing on Goodyear include 1998 IRL champion Kenny Brack from A.J. Foyt Power Team Racing, Buddy Lazier and Johnny Unser (Hemelgarn Racing), Roberto Moreno (Truscelli Team Racing), Davey Hamilton (Barnhart Galles Motorsports) and Stan Wattles (Metro Racing Systems). Steve Knapp (ISM Racing) returns to the series after missing one race, and veteran racer Raul Boesel joins Brant Racing starting this month.
Two teams make their initial forays into the IRL at Indianapolis, including one with excellent credentials: Tri Star Motorsports will field cars at Indianapolis for former IRL champion (and current NASCAR Winston Cup driver) Tony Stewart and teammate Dr. Jack Miller. Stewart also will attempt to compete in the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C., also on May 30.
Also joining the Goodyear armada at the Speedway will be Jimmy Kite with the new Team Coulson entry.
Goodyear will supply a talented foursome of drivers making their first appearance at the Brickyard, including sedan racer Mike Borkowski (PDM Racing), European karting champ and Formula 3000 driver Wim Eyckmans (Team Cheever), formula racer Jacques Lazier (DR Motorsports) and open wheel star Dave Steele (Panther Racing).
"The Indianapolis 500 is widely regarded as one of the worlds most renowned motorsports events," adds Grant. "The race attracts the largest single-day attendance of any sporting event and it commands a worldwide television and radio audience. Even non-racing fans will pay attention to the Indy 500 due to the history and prestige of the race. Because of that, the Indianapolis 500 is very important to Goodyear, both as a showcase for our technology and as an important tool in our sales and marketing effort."
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