TALLADEGA, Ala. — Tires were again a factor at the Talladega Superspeedway during Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 Sprint Cup race.

Unlike in previous races where tires have worn too excessively or had too little grip, the problem Sunday was blown tires, the kind where there is no warning. As a result, several blowups caused serious damage and put drivers in peril on the high-speed, high-banked 2.66-mile track.

The first incident came on lap 54 when David Reutimann’s car blew a tire right in front of Jeff Gordon. Gordon tried to avoid Reutimann’s sliding car, but in doing so hit the wall and went to the garage for repair. He eventually returned, but a 38-place finish cost him two spots in the Chase, where he now stands eighth, 232 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

“Unfortunately, I got shuffled to the back, and I was trying to get together with my teammates and move forward,” Gordon said. “The 44 just cut a tire and I tried to avoid him, but it turned to the right and into the wall. It’s too bad because we had a good car and it was going the way we wanted.”

In the aftermath of the wreck, Jimmie Johnson’s car got hit with a piece of Reutimann’s tire, breaking a front splitter brace. The repair was made, though, and Johnson was able to continue on the lead lap.

Ten laps after the race restarted on lap 69 the blown right front tire of Brian Vickers’ car ignited a nine-car wreck on the fronstretch which led to a 17-minute red-flag delay. In the wreck, Martin Truex Jr. was hit several times before his crumpled car rested against the turn one retainer wall.

“All I know is I heard a bomb go off,” Vickers said. “There was no warning and nothing I could do. I wish I could tell you why or what caused it. Goodyear would probably be the ones to ask for that. It didn’t come apart, it didn’t cut. It just exploded and then came completely apart. We’ve had several of those this weekend, and when you have more than one tire do the same thing at the same track on the same weekend, it’s probably not a coincidence.”

Goodyear officials, who have often found themselves under scrutiny during races this year, went to work on the problem. They later reported nothing out of the ordindary on the tires, instead citing the physical nature of the race as the reason for the tire blowouts.

The hardest hit came on lap 99 when Denny Hamlin, while leading the race, had a right front blow, and he went full-speed from the bottom of the track right into the turn one wall. He was helped out of his car and into a waiting ambulance. He was later transported to a local hospital, where he was reported to be awake and alert.

The first sign of a tire problem came during Friday’s first practice session when Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car blew a tire and caused a multi-car accident. Reports after that wreck did not indicate a potential tire proplem.

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