Without the benefit of on-board computers that you’ll find in other racing series, the crew chief of a NASCAR team relies on the feedback provided by a driver when trying to set a car up. In addition to the driver, there is another voice that the crew chief listens to for information on the car’s handling – that of the tire specialist. You won’t believe just how much a tire can tell you about the mood of a race car. In this interview you’ll hear from Patrick Mullen, tire specialist for our No.11 FedEx NASCAR Sprint Cup team. He’ll tell you what his job is like and everything you need to know about the Goodyear Eagles we race with. Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from, how did you get into racing? I grew up in upstate New Jersey where my family and I raced Modifieds at the Wall Stadium (an historic track that has seen many NASCAR-sanctioned races in its time). My brother Ronnie still races cars in that area and I love to keep up with how he’s doing in his #39.

I moved to North Carolina in 1999 to pursue a job in racing. How many sets of tires do you deal with on any given race weekend? On a typical weekend when the big race is on Sunday we will usually fly out of North Carolina on Thursday afternoon. When I get to the track on Friday morning we get straight to work. NASCAR only gives us a certain number of sets for Friday through Saturday, so I have to be sure to designate a certain set for Practices and a set for Qualifying. NASCAR gives us 8-10 sets for the race depending on the track. Those can’t be used for practices or qualifying. What is it like to be a tire specialist during practice sessions? Practice is when we really get to see what the car is doing and figure out how to make it faster. I do a lot of measuring and gauging. We practice for qualifying and racing and tire pressures vary greatly between those two environments. Our race tire pressures start low because they will build up throughout a tire run. For a long green flag race run, we have a targeted tire pressure that we’ve determined with get us maximum grip.

For qualifying runs I’ll set the pressures higher so they will reach that target pressure more quickly. Besides the tire pressure, I’m always checking the tire wear and the tire temperature. In regards to wear, we look to see if each tire is wearing more on the inside, middle, or outside of a tire. Wood Grain Floor In CarThis will tell us if the car has too much or too little camber, pressure, wedge, etc. Custom Fit Boat Seat CoversTemperatures can tell us similar things.Air Purifier Canada Review What kind of tools do you use at the track and how do they work? My list of tools includes: We always see a lot of numbers either stamped or written on a tire. Can you tell us more about those? Typically I’ll mark several things in yellow (which is my color of choice):

So then what is a “matched set” of tires? The name of the game is consistency. That’s what wins races. We want a set of tires where each tire is as close to the other three as possible. This eliminates variables in how they grip the track. We don’t want any unexpected variations in tire behavior. A set is matched up when we get four tires with sprint rate numbers and serial numbers that are close together. Race days must be crazy for you. What are they like? Some tracks limit the amount of time you have with your tires. At Richmond for example, we have 7 hours to prepare 8 sets of tires. This means measuring and recording all of the data, matching the sets, and marking wheel weight positions. Another things we do is purge the tires of air. Normal oxygen collects water easily, and we don’t want water in our tires so we drain the oxygen out and replace it with nitrogen (a dry air). Then we set it to race pressure and measure the circumference number. We have to get this done in time for the tire changers to come in and glue up their lugnuts.

Thankfully our spotter Curtis helps me get this done. We typically get Mondays off. On Tuesday and Wednesday I am busy getting paperwork together from the previous week to deliver to the crew chief and engineers. I’m also responsible for cleaning the tool boxes each week. I’ll go through them and tear down, clean, and reassemble certain tools like the jack. Thanks for reading about our tire specialists! If you have any questions leave them for us in the comments! FREE Shipping on orders over $49. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and . If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon 53 used & new from Fast, FREE Shipping with Amazon Prime

See more product details Auto Meter 2160 NASCAR Tire Pressure Gauge Special Offers and Product Promotions Save Big On Open-Box & Pre-owned: Buy "Auto Meter 2160 NASCAR Tire Pressure Gauge” from Amazon Warehouse Deals and save 31% off the $38.69 list price. Product is eligible for Amazon's 30-day returns policy and Prime or FREE Shipping. See all Open-Box & Pre-owned offers from Amazon Warehouse Deals. 2 x 6 x 11 inches 4.5 out of 5 stars #78,698 in Automotive (See top 100) #106 in Automotive > Tools & Equipment > Tire & Wheel Tools > Tire Gauges #660 in Automotive > Tools & Equipment > Tire & Wheel Tools > Tire Repair Tools #2,489 in Automotive > Wheels & Tires > Accessories & Parts 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S. This item can be shipped to select countries outside of the U.S. Learn More Manufacturer’s warranty can be requested from customer service.