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NASCAR is mulling whether to soften tires for the 2004 season, a change that would be appreciated by many Winston Cup teams.
Softer tires could lessen the impact of track position and fuel mileage and result in closer races.
"The way it sounds for next year ... we might have a softer tire, a tire that gives up, so that type stuff won't happen," said Jimmie Johnson, who drives the No. 48 Chevrolet.
Softer tires also would add an element of strategy not seen in recent years. The tires used by NASCAR three years ago were soft and lost their grip over the course of a race, which meant a driver was forced to manage his tires so they would last for an 80-lap run. A driver who abused his tires during the first 20 laps might go to the front, but a subsequent lack of grip would send the driver backward through the field.
The harder tires used today provide a more consistent grip. Tire management isn't the factor it used to be, with track position and pit strategy taking its place. Passing has been at a premium, with many races being won on pit road and with fuel mileage rather than on the track.
"There is a debate out there on ways to cut speeds," Johnson said. "Where (tire manufacturer) Goodyear is positioned is that these cars are building so much downforce and they're going so fast that we need a hard tire to support that. They've gone through spells where they've had a lot of right fronts blowing. They want to build a safe tire. If NASCAR is able to take away the downforce, then that is going to mean slower speeds. And then we could start looking at a softer tire."
"Once Goodyear and NASCAR finally see fit to soften this tire up, you're going to see a lot of really good races," Rusty Wallace said. "These tires nowadays are real, real hard. Once we soften them up, it'll get much, much better."
READY TO GO: Former CART champion Alex Zanardi will race at Monza this weekend in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, his first competition since losing both legs in a crash in September 2001 in Germany.
Zanardi will drive a modified BMW 320i ETCC for Ravaglia Motorsports. The throttle has been moved to the steering wheel and Zanardi will operate it with his left hand while using his right to shift gears. The team discovered during a test last month that Zanardi has enough power with his prosthetic legs to brake normally, but the pedal was moved to where the gas pedal was so he can exert enough force.
The idea for the race originated when Zanardi took his BMW 540i to the team for modifications to allow him to drive it on the street. Team engineer Roberto Trevisan suggested the modifications also could be made to a race car.