Vets slam tyre selection.

Adverse comments about Goodyear's choice of Eagle tyres for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway continued throughout last weekend, with some of the Cup Series' more established members happy to offer their opinions.

The problem appeared to stem from Goodyear fearing that its usual compound may be prone to sudden deflations with speeds approaching 200mph, and overcompensated with a harder compound as a result, leading to complaints that the handling of cars had become vague after just a handful of laps at speed.

Unsurprisingly, out-spoken two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart had the most vitriolic views, claiming that he had never run as bad a tyre as he found at AMS, making his #20 car loose on entry and exit, but tight in the middle of the corners.

"That was the most pathetic racing tyre that I've ever been on in my professional career," the Joe Gibbs Racing ace said, "It was just sliding around. They were loose in and loose off [and] tight in the centre. Just every aspect of the car that you were asking the car to do, it wouldn't do because the tyres couldn't take it.

"[Goodyear] exited out of Formula One. They exited out of IRL. They exited out of World of Outlaws and there is a reason for that. Goodyear can't build a tyre that is worth a cr*p. If I were Goodyear, I would be really embarrassed about what they brought here. I guarantee you Hoosier of Firestone or somebody can come in and do a lot better job than what they are doing right now."

Pole winner Jeff Gordon didn't exactly have rave reviews about the selection either, admitting that it made his #24 Hendrick Motorsport Chevy extremely nervous.

"I felt like I was going to crash every single lap," he said of his race, "I'm exhausted right now. I feel like I've run a thousand miles here. That was the hardest day I have ever had at Atlanta, especially for a top-five finish. This car, this tyre, at this track, was just terrible."

Dale Earnhardt Jr, who joins Gordon in the Hendrick stable this season, was a little more diplomatic when asked about his opinion during the top three press conference after the race.

"Well, I'll say that Goodyear Tyre Company makes good racing tyres. They make a safe tyre," he began, "You know, there's a lot of technology goes into making them tyres and I give them a lot of credit. It's a reputation risk just to be in this sport as a company like that. They can be the quarterback sometimes on Sunday as far as criticism goes. But they do a good job.

"This was just a bad combination, this tyre at this track. I know the tyre we used to run would wear into the cords, but you could still run hard on it. It wasn't dangerous. You would run into the cords and run like that for ten laps. That was a pretty good tyre. Even though it was on a cord, you could still run it for a while, get to the next pit-stop.

"I'll tell you, I'm still seeing the centre line in my tyres, the mould line in my tyre after 30 laps. So I went from running a tyre that would wear to the cord to a tyre that I still see the centre cord after 30 laps. There's got to be several combinations in between that. I mean, Lord, that can't be the next step."

Goodyear marketing manager Justin Fantozzi revealed that, despite the obvious criticism, the company was not disappointed with the selection, and would not be rushed into making changes for the series' return to AMS in October.

"We are tremendously proud of the wear rates we saw here," Fantozzi said, "We have a defined development for this particular tyre that started in August with a test here in Atlanta.

"We'll do the same thing we do after every race. We have post-race data now, so we will go back to Akron and sit down with engineers and see where that leaves us for the October race. Driver comments are part of the data set we use when selecting tyres, so we will gather input there as well."

Following the race, Ed Clark, president and general manger for Atlanta Motor Speedway, spoke with Goodyear representatives in an effort to avoid a repeat next time the series visited the circuit.

"Following my conversation with Stu Grant, I have pledged to make our track available to Goodyear to come to AMS on an 'as needed' basis to get the proper compound they need before the 26 October Pep Boys Auto 500," he said, "We will do everything possible from our end to help make sure that we have the best tyre compound available when the Sprint Cup teams return this fall."