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04/28/2008

Riverhead to Utilize New Tire Testing Procedures

Over the past six weeks, Riverhead Raceway officials have been aggressively addressing the issue of treating tires. Their discussions have included personnel from Hoosier, NASCAR officials, USAC officials and personnel from various race tracks. This was partly the result of Riverhead Raceway competitors questioning the tire issue. It is expected that the new policy for checking tires will, indeed, result in a level playing field for all teams.

Beginning at square one, Riverhead Raceway officials visited the raceway’s Hoosier tire distributor and took durometer readings on roughly 150-200 tires. This included tires from all divisions.  Both the temperatures of those tires and the durometer readings were recorded. Additionally, tires were placed in the sun, and their temperatures and durometer readings were recorded as well. This process laid the groundwork for the new policy that will be in place regarding tires at Riverhead Raceway in 2008.

On Saturdays, the officiating staff will be mounting several tires on rims and airing them up at the Hoosier truck. It will not necessarily be one tire for each division; rather, the decision will be made each Saturday as to what tires will be placed on rims. Those “sample” tires will sit at the Hoosier trailer, just as they would in a competitor’s pit area. Periodically throughout the course of the day, officials will put a durometer to the sample tires and record the readings. Competitors are actually being encouraged to do the same, as those tires will be available for any competitor in that division to come over and check with their durometer for a reading. Additionally, officials will be walking through the pit area periodically obtaining readings from competitors’ tires.

Officials will be taking readings from approximately ˝” to 1” from each shoulder and from the center of the tire, and the reading will be the spike when the durometer is first placed on the tire.

At the conclusion of practice, the officials will confer with one another to establish a fair and reasonable durometer reading that they feel is an accurate and fair representation of the readings that have been taken for the day. That will be the track spec for tires for that night. That number will NOT be announced, as all competitors will have had a chance to test the sample tires all afternoon and to test any tires they purchase.

Tires will be tested by the officials as the cars go on the track and as they come off, at the discretion of the officials. Additionally, the officials reserve the right to randomly select any competitor in the field and request that they dismount one or more tires following the race. This may be any car in the field, regardless of that competitor's finishing position.

The officials have stressed that the tires they have tested so far have been very consistent in their readings. Therefore, any competitor who does find an extremely soft tire is encouraged to notify track officials, and they are discouraged from purchasing that tire because it probably would not meet the track specs for that day.

The program will be flexible and will encourage all competitors to compare what they are buying to the test tires so they know where they stand. Not every division will have tires mounted but the officials have baseline readings for tires for every division and will continue to check all tires.

Finally, when the distributor purchases a new batch of tires those tires will be tested and a new sample tire will be mounted for all to test and compare in order to avoid claims that the new mold or batch of tires are very soft.

Source:  Riverhead Raceway Officials
Posted:  April 28, 2008

 

 

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