Blame Both Goodyear and NASCAR for the 2008 Allstate 400

Whenever any racing series makes the trip to Indianapolis, it is all about putting their name in the history books as a winner on the infamous speedway.  It is about screaming down the front straightaway as they are surrounded by fans both left and right.  It's about crossing the bricks at the start/finish line.

Since 1994, NASCAR has made the trip to this historic venue, and every time the race is filled with exciting action, high speeds, and the thrill of seeing the winning driver and crew kiss the bricks in victory.

Last year, all that excitement was replaced with frustration.  The high speeds were replaced with cautions and the thrill of victory was replaced with the joy of surviving.

It all started in practice when drivers complained the tire Goodyear brought to the track was wearing out quickly.  Ten laps into a run, the cords and inner structures were showing.

Teams were given an extra set of tires for the race, and NASCAR decided to throw cautions after 11 laps to prevent excessive wear.

What ensued was the poorest excuse for a NASCAR race I have ever seen.

Cars were blowing out tires as if they were balloons, drivers complained at the lack of grip, and the fans were disgusted at the show they had witnessed for 400 miles.

It is bad race when drivers actually look into a camera, then to the grandstands, and apologize for what had happened.

Days later, Robin Pemberton apologized to the fans for the race and vowed to make changes before returning in 2009.

Who was to blame for what happened?  Goodyear?  NASCAR?

Truth is, both are at fault.

NASCAR began using the "new car" the entire year in 2008, and it was the first time this style of car would have seen the speedway.  However, NASCAR did not hold an open test to see how the car handled.

Without holding a test, there's no way they could know what kind of tire to bring to the track.

Then, Goodyear brought a tire that was very abrasive and hard for speedway with high speeds and fast corners.  During practice the problems were first noticed, but by that time it was too late to bring a different tire to the track.

The race itself was the first one that I actually turned off before the halfway point.  I was so disgusted at what was happening that I switched to a different racing program for the rest of the afternoon.

The real losers that day were the fans who paid for tickets to the race itself.  They all had to suffer through the cautions and blowouts after paying for their tickets, hotels, and the gasoline to get there.

Since then, NASCAR has tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to get the right tire combination for the race.  So far, the progress has been good, with runs of over 30 laps on a single set.  Already, this may appear to be a great turnaround for one of the biggest races of the season.

Both Goodyear and NASCAR vowed to make the 2009 edition of this race a better experience for everyone involved.

Still, the 2008 race will be one that's brought up each time NASCAR visits Indy.

Both the sanctioning body and the tire manufacturer have to live with the fact that they both were to blame for what happened on that afternoon.

Hopefully, this year's race will be a vast improvement from the "Yellow Flag 400" of one year ago.