Quote:
Originally Posted by jdull99
I heard smthn about a different compound? Is that possible that a majority of the field were running them?
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Everybody is running the Hoosier SP3 right rear. The softer SP2 and even softer RD12 are out of production and were not legal this year. The SP3 probably has a stiffer sidewall construction than the RD12. Functionally it has to be stiffer, because the SP3 is designed to be an 82" tire on a 12" rim and the RD12 was designed to be an 84" tire on a 12" rim. Plus, some of us are required to run SP3s on 10" rims, so I know there were both 10" and 12" combinations in the building. The sidewall stiffness was a subject of conversation, as was the impact of the harder compound in terms of wearing out the track. The tire spec change was lauded as a major factor in the track holding up on prelim nights, but then Clinton Boyles threw me for a loop when he said the harder tire was responsible for the track taking rubber in Saturday's A because the harder tire would slip where the softer tire wouldn't.