Regardless of several tire issues that occurred in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 in Fontana, Calif., Goodyear never stops trying to improve upon the tires NASCAR cars ride upon in races.
Even if it means going back to school, so to speak.
The types of Goodyear tires that will carry the Sprint Cup cars and Camping World trucks in this weekend’s races at Martinsville Speedway will have gone through extensive testing in a new one-year old program at the National Tire Research Center, a program overseen by Virginia Tech University and its affiliated Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
Goodyear Racing, NASCAR’s official race tire supplier, has quickly become one of NTRC’s biggest customers and proponents.
“Shortly after we opened for business last year, we established a very busy test schedule with Goodyear Racing, and we are excited to be a part of their massive effort to supply NASCAR with the best tires possible for each and every race,” NTRC executive director Frank Della Pia said in a story by Virginia Tech’s news service.
Instead of testing tires on vehicles, the NTRC simulates various conditions on a high-tech machine known as a LTRe. The 14-ton machine, which costs more than $11 million, is the only one of its kind anywhere.
It’s task is simple: to turn, rotate and spin tires up to 200 mph, which is right in the wheelhouse of tires NASCAR uses at high-speed tracks such as Daytona, Texas, Atlanta and Talladega (see video below).
But it also can mimic virtually any type of racing or road surface in the world that tires ride upon, from asphalt to dirt.
The testing involves a variety of conditions, weight and other forms of loads, forces (such as G-forces), and even one of the favorite things NASCAR crew chiefs like to play with: camber (the angle of the tires, particularly those in front).
“The racing teams and series that test with us are satisfied with our equipment and the knowledge and support from our staff,” Della Pia said. “The on-track results prove our ability, and the fact that our clients travel here to Southern Virginia from all over the world to be repeat customers speaks for itself.”
The NTRC is knee-deep in racing country. It’s adjacent to Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va., a quick burnout from South Boston (Va.) Speedway, an hour away from Martinsville, two hours from Richmond and three hours from Charlotte.
The Center, which also does extensive work with partner General Motors, has grown exponentially in its first year of existence, and has even greater expansion plans over the next year-plus. It plans to hire more employees and eventually operate three daily shifts, as well as bring in other new machines to increase its testing capabilities.
“We are just getting started,” said NTRC president Tom Dingus. “We are building on the 65-year history of the Martinsville Speedway and the recent reemergence of the Virginia International Raceway.”
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