AboutCoy Jordan Expertise I can answer any questions about drivers, cars, crews, teams, shops, championchips and any technical question about the rules and regulations of NASCAR. The only question I might not be able to answer is one that deals with the small parts inside the car that help the car's performance, but the stuff such as the body, engine, and spoiler are easy.
Question While watching the tire situation on todays race, I noticed the outer edge is a copper bead. My question is "why".
Answer Hi Bob,
I'm not too sure the employees at Goodyear know this much about tires, because it certainly didn't look like they knew how to build some racing slicks that would last.
To answer your question though, a basic propertie of copper is that it takes a sustainable amount of heat before it starts to lose strength. Silver cords (toward the middle of the tire) are stronger initially, but heat up and deform quicker.
Since racing in bank tracks put more stress on the outside of the tires, the copper is needed to help sustain heat from friction. The outside of the tire must last as long as the middle of the tire.
And that's why its the copper on the outside and silver on the inside!
Hope i helped!
Coy Jordan
