Talk before Sunday's Indianapolis 500 was of engines and chassis and strategy. Talk afterward was of tires.
The one piece of equipment that everyone takes more or less for granted was the determining factor in Arie Luyendyk's surprising victory.Emerson Fittipaldi, the defending champion who set an early pace so fast that it made proceedings boring, finished third because of blistering tires.
Bobby Rahal, another former champion, could not maintain a late-race charge and had to settle for second because he was worried about blistering his tires.
Other contenders were victimized as well - Rick Mears early and Al Unser Jr. later, finishing fifth and fourth, respectively.
And so Luyendyk, with no tire problems to slow him and a strong car to carry him, drove smartly when the opportunity presented itself.
Tires? Tires are supposed to be like umpires - efficient and unobtrusive. Who would have thought the problem could be tires?
Certainly not Goodyear, which makes the radials the Indy cars race on. Goodyear, in fact, implied that the manufacturer's warranty had been voided by misuse.
Said Leo Mehl, Goodyear's director of racing: "Over the years, teams here have learned that the quick way around this Speedway is to run the car loose. One trick that helps them to do that is to over-inflate the right rear tire, which causes the tread to crown a bit in the middle of the tire.
"This strategy, combined with the hottest day we have had this month and a record race pace, led to overheating the right rear tire and blistering along the center line of the tread."
According to Goodyear, engineers recommended cold-tire inflation to 36 pounds per square inch, which, because of expansion, would have the tires running hot at 45-46 p.s.i. The engineers said every blistered tire exceeded 50 p.s.i.
Apparently, Luyendyk's crew kept a close eye on the pressure gauge. He had no blistering problems and won at a record average speed of 185.984 mph.