Harvick blasts Goodyear ‘piece of crap’ tires

LAS VEGAS — NASCAR Cup Series championship contender Kevin Harvick blasted Goodyear for what he said were inconsistent tires following a right front tire going flat, resulting in an accident that ended his playoff opener after 147 laps Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After Harvick slowed and hit the wall, another playoff driver, Erik Jones, slammed into the back of him.

Both drivers were uninjured in the accident. Harvick will finish 39th, Jones 40th.

“There was something wrong from the time we put the tires on,” Harvick said. “It’s like Russian roulette every time you put these piece of crap tires on and try to drive around the racetrack.

“One time it’s tight, one time it’s loose, one time they’re blistered. We had a great car and then you put a set of tires on it and you can’t hardly make it through the field. I just hate it for everybody on the [team].”

Harvick entered the day with 2,050 points and a 47-point cushion on the current cutoff on points for the initial three-race round in the playoffs. He likely still will be above the cutoff after the race but with little cushion.

“I’m not happy about anything right now,” he said.

Jones, who said he had not had problems with tires, was just two points ahead of the cutoff entering the race and will have to rally in the next two races (Richmond and the Charlotte road course) to advance.

Harvick wasn’t the only driver to have a tire issue in the race. Kyle Larson, Ty Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also had tires go down.

Goodyear brought the same tire as it did in March, using a tire that was designed to have more wear than in the past.

But temperatures are about 40 degrees warmer than in March, as the race Sunday was conducted in 100-degree heat. A Goodyear spokesman said the company warned teams Sunday that lower-than-recommended pressures lead to more deflection in the sidewall of the tire, causing excess heat and potential problems. There was no immediate word on what the issue was with Harvick’s tires.

“We worked with the teams to try to get the load off the inside shoulder of the right front,” Goodyear worldwide racing manager Stu Grant said. “Everybody has been talking about the heat. … You’re looking at a 10 percent reduction in pressure increase [during a run] at 100 degrees versus 60 degrees. At the same pressure, you’re going to see 5 pounds less of buildup at 100 degrees than you are at 60.”

Grant said they had not seen inconsistencies in tires at Vegas but did see some blistering in practice Saturday and determined it could be an issue Sunday. He said Harvick was not one of the teams that had blistering Saturday.

“Our performance has been pretty darn consistent, but the conditions are extremely difficult, aren’t they?” Grant said. “The heat in the racetrack makes it very slippery and it makes it very important to get the car set up right.

“If you’re off a little bit off, the heat and the slippery racetrack will exaggerate that [handling issue].”