An evolution of Generation 6, NASCAR’s Next-Gen car made its debut last season. Since then, the Next-Gen car has been a much-debated topic in the NASCAR community. Based on the cars that run in the Australian Supercar series, the Gen-6 evolution, introduces minor tweaks for better performance. While most drivers criticized the 18-inch wheels, and a lack of inner liners, Chase Elliott felt differently.

Although excelling on NASCAR’s ovals, one area where the Next-Gen car has struggled has been its Goodyear-sourced tires. Facing multiple tire failures on the track last season, NASCAR teams banded up, collectively pointing fingers at the tire giant. Switching up its tire game, Goodyear in April 2023 conducted a New Hampshire-specific tire test. Having participated in Goodyear’s tire test, Chase Elliott called out NASCAR teams for blaming Goodyear for their failure.

Chase Elliott sides with Goodyear, calls out NASCAR teams

Always at the receiving end of teams criticism, Goodyear’s last few years at NASCAR haven’t been particularly ‘good’. For years, NASCAR teams have ignored the manufacturer’s optimal tire pressure specifications, often surpassing the recommended psi. Masking their negligence after multiple failures, several teams have presented the multinational manufacturer as the ultimate ‘fall guy’. Earlier this year, Hendrick Motorsports’ #9 driver, Chase Elliott participated in Goodyear’s tire test. He was genuinely surprised at the advancements NASCAR could make by experimenting with different tire compounds.

Applauding Goodyear for its initiative, Elliott said, “I thought we made a lot of gains on the tire during that test and it opened my eyes to how much we can make things with just the tire compound by itself and that really surprised me. For a long time, and I still feel like Goodyear is in a tough place, because they feel like if tires fail, then it could hurt their sales on Monday.”

Calling out NASCAR teams for hurting tire sales, Elliott further added, “But (they) have to make a tire that is a little closer to the edge than they’ve (given us) in the past. That puts some responsibility on the teams to live within those guidelines, the livable zone of the tires, and that has to fall to the teams.”

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This isn’t the first time Elliott has come to the defense of the tire giant.

Amid Denny Hamlin’s Goodyear rant, the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro driver comes to NASCAR’s rescue

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Following the tire debacle during last season’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 race, Denny Hamlin was displeased with the performance of the Goodyear-sourced tired. Criticizing the manufacturer for its subpar product, Hamlin in a tweet wrote, “If you’re thinking that maybe NASCAR will look into someone else for tires, keep dreaming. GY pays them a fat check so they are allowed to gouge the teams each week.”

Chase Elliott was one of the drivers who had succumbed to the failing tires in Texas but felt it was NASCAR who had put the tire manufacturer in a critical position. Taking the blame away from Goodyear, he said, “I’m not sure that Goodyear is at fault. Goodyear always takes the black eye, but they’re put in a really tough position by NASCAR to build a tire that can survive these types of racetracks with this car. I wouldn’t blame Goodyear.”

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Always at the end of criticism, Goodyear upping their tire game and experimenting with different compounds will surely help drivers to extract much more performance from the Next-Gen cars.