NASCAR Roundup: News and notes

Seething Stewart: Tony Stewart took a hard lick last Sunday at Las Vegas when his right front tire blew out. The two-time Cup champion wasn’t injured, but he was still seething after arriving at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “There isn’t anybody, I don’t think, who is happy with the tires we have got,” Stewart said. “After 10 years in the Cup Series, you learn to be highly disappointed with everything that Goodyear does.” Stewart pointed out that the tires at Las Vegas were inconsistent, with some going a full fuel run without a problem and others wearing quickly. “I expect it to be wacky this week, too. I hate to say it, but the best thing that Goodyear does is make that gold trophy at the end of the year,” Stewart added, referring to the gold car model that is given by the tire company to each year’s champion. “That is one thing that they always do right. Everything from that moment on until the end of the year, it’s a crapshoot. You never know what you’re going to get when you get here. Justin Fantozzi, marketing manager for Goodyear Racing, the exclusive tire supplier for NASCAR’s top three series, said Saturday that the company is still gathering and analyzing data from Las Vegas, but he was confident it brought good tires to Atlanta.

No-win situation: As much as Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to end his two-year winless streak, he isn’t interested in having a victory handed to him. There has been some spirited debate this week about whether NASCAR should take wins away from teams caught cheating. The sanctioning organization’s policy has been to take away points and hand out fines and suspensions, but leave victories intact. “It wouldn’t matter to me because that wouldn’t be a great way to win one,” said Earnhardt, who finished second to Carl Edwards last Sunday at Las Vegas. A postrace inspection found Edwards’s car was missing its oil tank lid and the driver was later docked 100 points and crew chief Bob Osborne was suspended for six races and fined $100,000 for the violation. The Roush Fenway Racing team has denied intentional cheating, but speculation has run rampant in the NASCAR garage.

Associated Press