Tire issues have plagued racing at Dominion Raceway once again, this time after Justin Carroll was involved in a frightening crash in the closing stages of a Late Model Stock Car race on Saturday night.
Carroll, the son of longtime Langley Speedway competitor Terry Carroll, was accelerating coming off turn two when the tire suddenly disintegrated coming off turn two, sending him careening into the wall. The wreck appeared worse than it was, according to Carroll, but it is the latest in a series of tire issues at the track this season.
“The tire still has center line and plenty of tread,” Carroll said. “It completely disintegrated and came apart. I was in the gas, full throttle coming off of two. It was center of one and two and the tire just let go. I got on the brakes and it went straight into the outside wall.”
Dominion Raceway races on McCreary racing tires. However, the McCreary brand is in name only. The tires are actually American Racer tires, the same tire company that had issues in the CARS Tour at Orange County Speedway last September. Dominion Raceway and Carteret County Speedway are the only tracks in the Southeast still running on American Racer tires.
Aftermath of Justin Carroll’s Dominion Raceway crash. (Photo from Justin Carroll on Facebook)
The tires have caused problems throughout the season, including a highly publicized tire failure brought to light on social media by Tom Pistone. Carroll had raced some at Dominion earlier this season but said he was not aware of the more recent problems involving the McCreary/American Racer tires.
“I knew some,” Carroll remarked. “I was at Dominion at the beginning of the season and I didn’t know they were still having issues. That tire only had 80 laps on it. Had the first race and part of the second race. I wasn’t aware they were still having issues. I thought they solved some of that but obviously not.”
Carroll’s teammate, Maddy Ryan Mulligan, will be racing on American Racer tires on Sunday and it is something that the team will monitor. However, Carroll says there’s no way to really monitor what’s happening with the tires or prevent any problems since his just disintegrated with no warning.
“I won’t be there just because I raced tonight but we’ll ask to keep an eye on it,” Carroll remarked. “I don’t think they’ll have the issue [at Carteret County Speedway]. It’s not as fast as Dominion. The bad thing about it is, you can’t do anything to keep an eye on it. We checked my tires after the first race and it checked out perfect.
“It didn’t give any warning. It’s a bad deal, not something you feel slowly come apart. I don’t really know what you can do to prevent it.”
Tires will continue to be the focus point at Dominion Raceway. The track is scheduled to run a 150 lap Late Model Stock Car race on Thursday night, September 8th and the durability of the track’s tires has already been called into question on social media by racers and crew members at Dominion Raceway.
Fire and Health Concerns
After his car hit the wall, Carroll’s car caught on fire – the first time that has happened to him in his Late Model Stock Car career. While fire is often something a racer fears most, Carroll said there is no time for fear.
“That was my first fire and nothing really fazed me,” Carroll said. “It kind of, it wasn’t a horrible fire but it was on fire under the hood. The crash wasn’t, it looks bad but didn’t feel too bad. I mean, it never really scared me. You don’t have time to get scared.”
The recent and prolonged absence of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series due to concussion symptoms has also brought attention to concussions in the sport of racing. After his crash on Saturday night, Carroll says it’s definitely something he will keep an eye on.
“My head hurts. I don’t think I have a concussion but I’ll keep an eye out for that. I don’t think I’ll have any other problems with that.”
