NASCAR Wheels Trigger Next-Gen Tire Problems

Have you noticed?… Did tires threaten to derail the Next Gen car’s Daytona 500 debut? Two obvious failures occurred over a distance of 500 miles: Kaz Grala And Justin Haley saw their wheels come off at full speed. Fortunately, neither turned into a serious incident as both drivers were able to continue after repairs.

But the idea of ​​a wheel coming off like this, given the tight field at Daytona International Speedway, is a little disconcerting. The problems came two days after NASCAR confiscated the axles of That of Brad Keselowski The RFK Racing team and its former employer, Team Penske. Officials claimed “something inappropriate” had been done to the tires during race preparation.

The accusations were met with a strong response, which is unusual for most NASCAR sanctions which are more tacitly accepted these days rather than going through the appeals process. Instead, RFK and Penske focused on potential problems discovered before Sunday’s race.

“We had contacted NASCAR a week before and said the wheels we were getting weren’t all the same,” Penske said after celebrating Austin Cindric Daytona 500 win. “We felt like we needed to change the holes where the drive pins go. We didn’t really get any feedback, and at that point we went ahead and opened up the holes.

“It’s not a performance thing,” Keselowski added. “Once they see all the data we have, it shouldn’t be a problem…we’ve made some safety modifications to the wheels.”

These comments seem prophetic considering how the race unfolded. It wasn’t just these two organizations; teams like Martin Truex Jr. I lost time in the pits struggling to get the wheel nut on the right. (Remember, there’s only one left: tires should now be replaced faster than two full cans of fuel). As wear and tear is not a major problem on this track, some crew chiefs have planned fuel-only stops to avoid the risk of having to change them.

But the most damning evidence of a bigger problem came during the winner’s press conference, when crew chief Jeremy Bullins admitted his team had taken a set of tires off Cindric.

“We took a set of wheels out of rotations today,” he explained, “Because we made some tools to check them and make sure they were what they were supposed to be… we were afraid they wouldn’t continue (the car).”

Despite this problem, the wheel problem could have prevented Cindric from winning the race. Remember, car #2 spun Chase Briscoe as teams checked Grala’s loose wheel on lap 42.

Looking to the future, we now head to a track at Auto Club Speedway known for old asphalt ripping tires to shreds during green flag racing. You won’t have the option to refuel only during a pit stop, that is, what if we really have a problem here? This will appear shortly.

There is also the matter of Grala and Haley’s four-race suspension penalties. According to NASCAR regulations, any tire that comes loose under racing conditions is subject to suspensions for the crew chief, tire changers and tire carriers similar to this incident with Kyle Busch in 2017. But should these organizations, both new to the Cup circuit, be subject to harsh sanctions when it was a “party” sanctioned by NASCAR that created the problem?

The good news coming out of Daytona is that no further mechanical issues with the Next Gen car materialized. Only one team, underfunded NY Racing, went behind the wall for a non-accidental problem (something got stuck in Greg Biffle fuel line). All engines have gone 500 miles with axles and brakes, parts that were a concern after a few odd DNFs in Los Angeles.

A new car always comes with at least one curveball that you don’t expect. This week will be a true test of open communication between NASCAR and its teams, diagnosing the problem and reaching a resolution that leaves all parties happy – and safe.

Have you noticed?… The way Ford worked together like superglue in the draft? This allowed seven cars to make the top 10 despite crashes that wiped out some of their main contenders (Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick). The way their teamwork played out in pack races is not unusual; this was the theme of the 2021 Daytona 500 before Brad Keselowski And Joey Logano tangled in the last lap of the race.

Other manufacturers suffer from two completely different problems. Let’s start with Chevrolet, which had the most cars of all brands (18). This should have given them a decisive advantage, but think about it for a second; When did the Bowties end up tied together in a pack?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was a competitor but often alone in the leading pack, relying on Ford to help him. Hendrick Motorsports, which lost cars to accidents throughout the afternoon, was never able to effectively rally itself. It felt like the Chevys were disorganized and pursuing an every-man-for-himself scenario, even though that wasn’t their intention.

As for Toyota? They learned about strength in numbers. When you only support six cars out of 40 on the field, it’s easy for multi-car wrecks to decimate your ranks. In the end, there were only three left in the lead lap and all of them (even the second) Bubba Wallace) had some sort of damage.

What if Toyota doesn’t want to invest its money in more teams the rest of the year? It’s their right. But I would consider at least a few part-time helpers for peloton races. It seems that many new owners testing the waters will run a limited program with these leads in mind and this is a great opportunity to try to build future relationships.

Have you noticed?… Could Rick Ware Racing be a team to watch? Yes, you read that right. So far this season, the rebuilt and streamlined two-car setup has worked better than expected. Ryan Preece won a last chance qualifier in the Clash at the Coliseum driving his No. 15 car; David Ragan he followed that up with a top 10 at the Daytona 500.

But the title for most improved title so far in 2022 goes to Cody Ware. Ware recorded a career-best 17th place finish at the Daytona 500; he finished just one lap off the pace. This seems somewhat ordinary until you consider that this is his second top 20 finish in 56 career Cup starts. He’s a driver whose career average is 32.3, collecting more retirements (18) than first rounds (five) with seriously underpowered and underfunded equipment.

RWR’s alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing aims to change that this season. Will they visit victory lane soon? Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. But the first returns seem good.

Have you noticed?… Quick shots before taking off…

• Another team that is quietly coming out of Daytona in great shape: Spire Motorsports. Corey LaJoie And Landon Cassill combined for two top-15 finishes while bringing both cars home in one piece. LaJoie now has four top-15 finishes in his last six races at Daytona, a solid resume for a driver still leading an underfunded effort.
• I don’t know why the NASCAR Xfinity Series hasn’t expanded its field to 40 cars. 47 entrants attempted the season opener and 44 showed up at Auto Club Speedway this weekend. If NASCAR wants to attract new competitors and more cars appear, shouldn’t it expand the field accordingly? Cup and Xfinity regularly used 43 cars.
• On a related note, parts shortages are one of the main reasons why only 36 cars showed up at ACS on the Cup side. But the line among uncharted teams was that intermediate avenues weren’t worth showing up; they still felt there was too much of a competitive gap. Difficult to dispel this rumor when no team is trying to create more parity.

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