Tires, drugs, the COT and aggression

Yep, here we go again, the never-ending discussion about tires and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There will be tire testing June 1-3 and June 15-16, according to Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Director of Competition. He spoke at the 4th Official NASCAR Members Club convention last week in Charlotte.

And Stewart-Haas Racing will be in it, just not Tony testing the tires. Ryan Newman will participate in the test. Tony's been, shall we say, a wee vocal about Goodyear and their tires?

Pemberton said the track is diamond ground and it the toughest surface in racing, and that's why it's so tough on tires. Fine, it's hard and wears hard on tires. Just build a tire that can go more than 10 or 12 laps, OK Goodyear?

Last year's Brickyard was a waste of time, money and racing.


On to other topics with the Director. . .

The drug testing policy has been up for discussion recently. Actually, while we were at the convention it hit the news head on and in a big way. Thank you Jeremy Mayfield.

The policy has become more aggressive than the in the past, Pemberton said. Drivers, crew members and NASCAR officials are subject to randomly-generated testing. The 60 people chosen and tested weekly are scrutinized for over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs and (duh)illegal substances.

It's just one of them racin' things, aggressive driving versus good, hard racing.

"It's a fine line," Pemberton told the crowd of nearly 100 racefans gathered Friday morning at Joe Gibbs Racing. "We don't want to micromanage, and I don't want to make that call."

So how do you tell the difference? With all the cameras and monitors he looks at during the races, you can see every expression on a driver's face. "You can see the whites of their eyes and facial expression and see their intent."

"It's all about winning and points," he said of the COT. The COT provides an annual savings of at least $1million per team.

Everyone has the opportunity to run with the COT, making a more level playing field. (Note to self: yeah, more level. Roush and Hendrick $$$ versus everyone else. Sure.)

The need for different cars for different tracks is less. Small changes in the wing and endcaps allow adaptation to different tracks, he said. The wing can be changed up to 6 degrees.

"The cost to building a car was like a runaway train," Pemberton said.

Well, that's our talk with Robin Pemberton. There's still a discussion with Buz McKim, Historian of the under construction NASCAR Hall of Fame, and our trip to the Research and Development Center.