He hasn't seemed to make Hoosier to be a big change at all. He just says it was simply going to a place that had the correct size he needed for his set up.
Obviously he isn't getting any sponsorship type money from them.
I'm surprised there hasn't been some of the other less funded teams lower in the points
making the switch because of the same issue he was having.
It sure is great seeing him do so well.
13th in points and moving up.
Naylor was saying at Indy that the Goodyears were probably still slightly better than the Hoosiers but it didn't matter if you couldn't get the good ones. He didn't talk about a specific contract or agreement but kept stressing how grateful he was to Hoosier for working with him and helping him out.
He mentioned going to the Goodyear trailer to buy tires and seeing all the names written on the stock - none of those names being his. He described the tires available to him as being mis-matched pairs and odd sizes.
"This is my living and I have to use the best tools possible. I can't race with table scrap tires. I hold no malice towards Goodyear but have to do what is necessary to get my program to the highest level I can."
I asked him if Hoosier had a good stock of tires for other PS teams who might want to make the switch. He answered that he was not involved at all with supply and had no idea. I've since been told that Hoosier does not have tires available but HAVE NOT verified that with them.
To me, the most interesting thing he said all weekend was when I asked him how he'd managed to go so far in such a very short time in the most competitive class on the planet.
He told me he went out of his way to put inexperienced (to Pro Stock) people on his team, not wanting to deal with existing baggage or preconceived notions. I'm still very surprised by that but certainly can't argue with his success - which is as far as I'm concerned is the biggest surprise to come out of the class in years.
I had written earler in the year that I thought the Jaegermeister team was one of the most underrated out there and was not getting the notice they deserved. I caught a bit of laughter over that but have to thank Max and his crew for making me look smarter than I am.
