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Stewart, Newman Crash, Blast Goodyear

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2009

Updated: 02/14/2009 01:29 pm

Daytona Beach - Tony Stewart got his first major setback as a team owner Saturday when a crash in practice took out both of the cars Stewart-Haas Racing planned to race in the Daytona 500.

Stewart and Ryan Newman each will drive backup cars in Sunday's race, although in Newman's case, his car is a backup to a backup.

The incident occurred when Newman, who had already lost his primary car after being hit from behind by Zephyrhills' David Reutimann in Thursday's qualifiers, had a right rear tire go flat. Stewart was following closely and couldn't avoid hitting him.

Both drivers ripped NASCAR exclusive tire supplier Goodyear for the tires it has brought for the race.

"Same stuff that we always talk about every year, failures Goodyear has," said Stewart, who tore into the tire maker after a race last year at Atlanta. "I think that's part of their marketing campaign — the more we talk about it, the more press they get.

"But I think they forget it's supposed to be in a good way, not a bad way."

Said Newman, "The right rear tire exploded in the middle of one and two there. It gave me a 100 yards of [warning], the very, very slightest vibration. … Just disappointed in the situation Goodyear has put us in."

Stu Grant, Goodyear's general manager for Worldwide Racing, said an examination of Newman's tire indicated "a classic case of clear puncture."

"The tire shows no evidence of high wear," he said. "It shows now evidence of any kind of blistering. It shows no evidence of any kidn of abuse."

Stewart, who finished second in one of Thursday's qualifiers and is supposed to start on the inside of the third row today, will drop to the rear in the No. 14 Chevy he drove to a third-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout.

Asked by a reporter if Stewart thinks it will hurt his chances of winning the 500, he replied, "I don't know, rocket scientist. I'm sitting here with a backup car. What do you think?"

About Saturday's development creating the first big test for his team, Stewart said, "I'm not the least bit concerned about that. It's the group at the end of the garage [Goodyear] that I'm concerned about."

Newman will drive a car originally designated as Stewart's second backup. It was still painted red Saturday but will have the black and gold U.S. Army paint scheme by race time.

Tribune correspondent Rick Harmon contributed to this story.

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