Did Jimmie Johnson Get A Free Pass On Loose Tire?

 

Gas 'n Go: Official saved tire in spirit of safety
Jeff Hammond / Fox Sports

Safety first

Mike from Oklahoma City, Okla.: Why wasn't Jimmie Johnson penalized on the last pit stop when his tire went out of his pits and the official stopped it? The official should not be allowed to do that, and if he does, it should be an automatic penalty! Could you please explain this?

Jeff Hammond: A NASCAR official is there to referee and give assistance in the spirit of safety. For example, a tire crossing pit road is not in the best interest of NASCAR or anybody on pit road if an official can knock it down.

What I believed and perceived at the time was the official saw the crew member trip and inadvertently release the tire while making an effort to carry the tire over pit wall. When the No. 48 team was penalized during the fifth caution, nobody on the team made an effort to catch the tire, and a NASCAR official wasn't close to it. In that first instance, the car clearly had left the pit before they had gotten control of it.

It's a judgment call, and it's easy for us to go back because we have instant replay. The officials on pit road do not have replays, and the officials in the tower are reluctant to make calls based off of replays if they aren't able to see the entire circumstance.

While some people may think the No. 48 team got by with one, I have a hard time criticizing what happened because we do not need that tire on pit road. NASCAR officials aren't biased, and they have saved more than just Jimmie Johnson's tires from rolling onto pit road. The officials are there to promote safety as much as anything else. If they can intervene and prevent something from happening, they won't worry about penalties or any other kinds of ramifications after the fact.

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Kahne Takes Vegas Pole, Stewart Tired Of Tires

 

By David Newton
ESPN.com

LAS VEGAS -- From the Neon Garage where fans can watch crewmen work on the cars of their favorite Nextel Cup drivers on a raised walkway to the new banked surface, there's a lot to like at renovated Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

There's one thing not to like -- if you're a driver.

The new left front tire, which Goodyear mandated to help slow speeds that are soaring because of the new track surface and banking, got more criticism than a fixed poker game.

From pole-sitter Kasey Kahne to two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, nobody knows exactly what to expect in Sunday's race.

"The cars have so much downforce it's going to be hard to run side-by-side on a tire as stiff as a rock," said Kahne, who shattered his qualifying record by 10 mph with a lap of 184.856. "I mean, it's just solid."

Nobody was tougher on the new tire than Stewart, who will start 25th after a lap of 180.596 mph that was well above the record (174.904 mph) Kahne set in 2004.

"It [stinks]," he said. "You think a company like Goodyear can do a lot better job than what they're doing. Especially for a company that's been in this business for so long.

"They don't care about the competition. They don't care about the drivers. They don't care about the teams. All they care about is not having bad publicity and not blowing tires and getting bad publicity because of that."

Stewart said he'd give half of his $5 million-plus salary to have the Hoosier Tire Company make tires "instead of the crap we're running on now."

Half a dozen cars crashed during qualifying and several did during practice. None was more spectacular than Paul Menard, whose car went airborne sideways through the infield.

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Mark Martin Stays In Current NEXTEL Cup ride

 

Don't expect Martin to bail on Cup ride, backup saysBy David Newton
ESPN.COM

MEXICO CITY -- Regan Smith is more than an interested third party when it comes to whether Nextel Cup points leader Mark Martin will stick to his plan to run a part-time schedule.

He's the driver ready to replace Martin in the No. 01 Chevrolet when the series moves to Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25.

"When I go to Las Vegas [next week] I might put a couple of dollars on it," Smith said before practice for Sunday's Busch Series race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. "I'm sure it's going to be on the board soon. It's a pretty big story.

"I don't know what the odds are. All I can say is if I was in his shoes and leading the points after Atlanta it would be tough for me as a driver to get out of the car."

Either way, Smith will have a ride at Bristol.

Owners Jay Frye and Bobby Ginn have promised to put him in a fourth car, the No. 39, if Martin has a change of heart. They've even discussed using his Busch Series crew chief to run the show.

"If he stays in it that's awesome for the team and it's awesome for our company as a whole," Smith said. "If he decides to get out of it I'm going to do my best to keep it running as well as he's been running."

Martin, off to the best start in his Cup career with a second in the Daytona 500 and fifth last week at California, has been adamant that he won't change his mind. He insists he's happy with the part-time schedule and that he's looking forward to having an off weekend.

He also has a history of changing his mind. He extended his 2005 retirement tour at Roush Fenway Racing into 2006 after owner Jack Roush lost Kurt Busch to Penske Racing.

"I think it's going to be a split-second decision," Smith said. "I think he'll decide after the race at Atlanta. You've just got to go with your heart at that point."

more on Mark Martin remaining in current Cup ride