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CONCORD — A Goodyear official says that the tire manufacturer is "at least" two years away from having a wider and taller tire ready to race.

Greg Stucker, director of Goodyear race tire sales, said that there's an "outside chance'' the tire will be ready for its first on-track test later this year. Stucker said in January that there was hope that Goodyear could race the new tire in some events next year, but the timeline has changed.

"We feel like we've still got some work to do," he said Wednesday during a tire test at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "We're certainly seeing some performance advantages, which was one of the goals. We think we've got some things to improve before we put it on the race track."

Stucker says the new tire, which is expected to improve handling, is 1.5 inches wider and is 2 inches bigger in diameter than the current tire.

Goodyear has looked into a new tire because of the challenges the new car presents. The car has more right-side weight, putting more force on the right-side tires. Tire problems at some tracks have shown that what worked with the old car doesn't work now.

Goodyear has been aggressive in testing the current tire since those problems last year. The company has tests at Indianapolis planned in April and mid-June. Goodyear also will test at New Hampshire and Chicago later this year and make a second trip to Atlanta to prepare for the Labor Day weekend race there. Since December, Goodyear has tested at Las Vegas, Darlington, Atlanta, Texas and Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The Lowe's two-day test ended Wednesday. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose and Paul Menard tested. Stucker said that Goodyear was looking to use the same type of right side tires at Charlotte that were used at Las Vegas.

Stucker also said that the right side tires for Martinsville will be a softer compound to help drivers with grip.

RETURN ENGAGEMENT? Budweiser, which had been a sponsor in the NHRA since the early 1980s and backed Kenny Bernstein's team for 30 years, announced this week that it will not return as sponsor.

So, what about Budweiser's sponsorship of Kasey Kahne's Sprint Cup car?

"As far as our stuff, we have another year with Budweiser and they've been great to work with,'' Kahne said. "Hopefully we can do things to keep them happy and ... work with them for a long time."

JUST PENALTY: Marcos Ambrose says the four-race suspension NASCAR gave crew member Jimmy Watts for chasing a tire across pit road at Atlanta was fair.

Watts' suspension begins this weekend at Bristol.

NASCAR called a caution at Atlanta after Watts ran across pit road and dangerously close to the track to get an errant tire. The caution dramatically impacted the race, putting several contenders a lap down.

Ambrose says that Watts is a "great guy" but that Watts "just went on a reaction, and it was the wrong reaction.

"I think the penalty is a good one. You can't have guys running on pit lane. You can't have guys running up to the race track surface."

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com