All eyes on the new Goodyear tire

Thursday, March 8, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

What: NASCAR weekend

When: Friday through Sunday

Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Tickets: $26.25 for Friday's practice session; $38.85-$50.40 for Saturday's Busch Cup race; Sunday's Nextel Cup race is sold out except for a few single seats; 644-4444 or lvms.com

Las Vegas Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith has invested more than $30 million in the past year to transform his track into what he calls "America's greatest speedway."

But it will be a $400 Goodyear Racing tire - and its ability to withstand the blazing speeds on a reconfigured and repaved racing surface - that will be the main topic of conversation this weekend, when the NASCAR nation converges upon Las Vegas for its annual orgy of speed.

And if race fans get tired of hearing about tires, there will be plenty more to talk about this weekend.

Although this marks the 10th year the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and its developmental Busch Series have set up camp at the 1,600-acre facility across from Nellis Air Force Base, never has the Nextel Cup Series hit town in the midst of such tremendous change. To wit:

Not to be outdone, the speedway itself has undergone a radical, multimillion-dollar transformation since the 2006 NASCAR weekend. Although the Nextel Cup race routinely sells out and a capacity crowd of nearly 160,000 is expected this weekend, many have complained that the races here have been boring because of a lack of side-by-side racing at the front of the pack.

In addition to increasing the banking in the turns from 12 to 20 degrees to promote more side-by-side racing and completely repaving the 10-year-old racing surface, the makeover included building a new fan-friendly infield.

Another wrinkle in the fan experience this year is the fact that speedway officials have opted to make the grandstands a smoke-free area, citing a 2006 U.S. surgeon general's report on the dangers of secondhand smoke. The track will, however, allow customers to light up on the concourse behind the grandstands.

But it is the changes on the racetrack that will fuel the talk about tires this weekend. Following a NASCAR test session at the speedway in late January, tire supplier Goodyear was forced to build a new tire after officials became concerned that the excessive amount of heat in the tires could lead to dangerous failures during the race.

NASCAR, working in conjunction with Goodyear, also has mandated the use of smaller fuel cells, which will lead to more pit stops and allow teams to change tires before heat buildup becomes an issue. Both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series cars will use 13-gallon fuel cells this weekend instead of the 18-gallon tanks NASCAR had planned on using this season.

"Mainly what Goodyear wasn't happy with is that they didn't like what they saw in the tires building up a little bit too much temperature and having some failures," four-time series champion Jeff Gordon said. "They reconstructed a tire and built a different tire that we haven't tested there that I hear is rock hard and is not going to be a lot of fun to drive on, so I'm not looking forward to that."

But Gordon said he and many of his fellow drivers are looking forward to racing on the newly banked track because it should lead to better racing.

He noticed racers found a second, higher groove around the track during testing. "That's always promising when you see something like that," he said.

Tony Stewart, a two-time Cup champion, said he isn't so sure the changes will produce the desired results. The cars might not be able to pass as easily as before because of the faster speeds, he said.

"It's one of those things where it would have been better off if they'd have just left it alone."