news-record.com

By Jamie Turski, tire specialist for Kyle Busch's team (as told to staff writer Dustin Long)

1. Once we get the tires, we deflate them.

"They just have regular air in it from Goodyear. We fill it with nitrogen. It's just a lot drier air because in these tires, unlike street tires, they build up a lot more. The less moisture in a tire, the less it's going to build up. So we try to get it as dry as possible, that's the point of nitrogen.''

2. It's important to know who made those tires.

"If they're built on the same day, they seem to be a lot more consistent then if they're built on different days. We can find all the numbers (codes on tires) and we can get pretty close to that.''

3. Yes, we know the left sides look as if they're flat.

"Your air pressure on your left sides, which they'll talk about on TV all they time, you can run really, really low at Martinsville &ellipses; because these speeds are so slow. The lower the tire on the left side, the more grip you're going to have.''

4. A last-second decision to change two instead of four tires is tough on us.

"There are definitely last-minute adjustments when (the driver has) been two or three pit stalls away and I'm still making adjustments. You definitely have to stay on your toes to get everything right. A place like Martinsville where everything happens so quickly, definitely.

5. Tires can tell so much about a car's handling.

"If you have too much camber in it, the inside of the front tires will be worn a lot more than the outside. If he comes in after a run, if you're right front (air pressure) is built up a lot more than your right rear, he may be too tight. Of if you're right rear is built up more than your right front, it's showing he's too loose, he's back-end sliding."