NASCAR Drivers Complain of Slick Tires for KOBALT Tools 500, Again

Goodyear took a lot of heat after last year's Atlanta race, which would be just the the first of many races where the drivers struggled to hook their cars up with the tires and the track.

Tony Stewart was the most vocal of the drivers who voiced their opinions of the poor tires Goodyear brought for the race.

Stewart, after last years KOBALT Tools 500 said, "We had a tire that didn't meet the standards of the competition. You felt like you were holding your breath all day. I'm real excited I didn't crash. I've been racing 28 years and never seen a racing tire like this weekend."

While his comments were harsh and he was not alone in those views, he was the most vocal of the drivers in his anger towards the tire package Goodyear brought to Atlanta.

The hot, slick Atlanta Motor Speedway seems to be the one track where the Car of Tomorrow and Goodyear's tire simply don't work.

This year may be no different.

As soon as the cars hit the track on Friday for practice, many drivers complained of lack of grip. 

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin said, "The tire is extremely loose. We can't really get a hold of the tire here, they said it was going to have a whole lot more grip, but it's a lot slicker than I remember. We have to just work on getting it right here."

Once again drivers still can't figure out the tire situation at Atlanta.

The options are limited for both the drivers and track officials at Atlanta.

Drivers don't like when tracks are repaved. The racing changes drastically, and it takes a couple years for the track to age and the racing to get back to the quality seen before the repaving.

Ironically, Stewart is a against repaving tracks.

Darlington is a good example of that. The side-by-side racing was all but gone in May of 2008.

But track officials have said they have discussed repaving with NASCAR and the drivers, but they didn't get the response they might have hoped for.

Ed Clark, track president said today, "It's been 12 years since we've re-paved it, so maybe it's time. But every time I mention re-paving it to the drivers, they tell me not to do it. Maybe we'll wait until the dirt starts coming up through the asphalt."

With the current car weighing more than the old car, and drivers still struggling with finding speed and aerodynamics's, Atlanta's tire issues could make this race very interesting in terms of points and strategy.

Drivers should be hitting pit road at every chance they get to put on four fresh tires.

This also plays right into track position. At a track where we can see long green flag runs, it will be important for these drivers to pass while the tires haven't worn off.

The race is going to come down to who  can handle the tire wear the best and take advantage of the cautions and pit stops.

Even though it is early in the season, drivers do not want to risk a tire issue that will have them playing catch up come Bristol in two weeks.