From staff and wire reports

HAMPTON, GA.: Tony Stewart has gotten into it with the media. He has taken out his frustration on fellow drivers. He has even gone after all-mighty NASCAR.

Now Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is feeling his wrath.

After the Sprint Cup race Sunday, nearly everyone complained about the tires provided for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but no one was more biting in their criticism than Stewart.

''I can't say it's surprising,'' Stewart said. ''They got run out of Formula One. They got run out of CART, the IRL. They got run out of World of Outlaws sprint cars. They got run out of USAC divisions because they couldn't keep up and make a quality enough product.''

Ouch. And that's from the guy who finished second to Kyle Busch.

Others were a bit more diplomatic about the tires in the Cup race than Stewart. Just about everyone complained about the tire Goodyear decided to use on a 1.54-mile, high-banked oval that is notorious for wearing down the rubber faster than most tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Carl Edwards said his shoulders were aching from struggling with the wheel all day. Jeff Gordon said he felt as if he was going to wreck on every lap. There was very little side-by-racing, with most drivers more concerned with making sure they got to the finish without getting into the wall.

Goodyear issued a statement Monday, pointing out that the company tested tires three times (in August, October and December) and that the same tire was used in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday with no complaint.

''Even though both Goodyear and NASCAR were satisfied with the tire's performance in Atlanta, if the drivers are not happy, then Goodyear's not happy,'' the statement read. ''Now that we know how this tire combination performed, we'll go back and retest for the fall race.''

Stewart also said that NASCAR should not have made Goodyear its sole provider of tires. The company has a five-year contract with the sanctioning body that runs through 2011, an arrangement that NASCAR prefers because it doesn't want multiple companies competing for business at the expense of safety.

''The bad thing is they've got an exclusive deal,'' Stewart said. ''They have no reason to have to push and make their product better because they have no competition. I don't know what it's going to take to get them to give us a quality tire that this series and NASCAR deserves. But they obviously aren't capable of doing it right now.

''If I were Goodyear, I would really be embarrassed about what they brought here. I guarantee you Hoosier or Firestone or somebody can come in and do a better job than they are right now.''

A Goodyear official declined to respond directly to Stewart's complaints but defended the company's products.

''We're not stagnant. Things keep evolving. We'll take this and learn from it,'' said Justin Fantozzi, the marketing manager for Goodyear's motorsports division. ''We do the best job we can with the data we have. We bring the safest tire we know how to build.''

Goodyear also said that the high costs of competition was why the company left the other series.

As with most things NASCAR, there's always divergent opinions on what needs to be done to provide the best competition. No matter what sort of tire it builds, Goodyear will likely be criticized by someone.

''There's 43 drivers here. There's 43 crew chiefs. There's 30 car owners,'' Fantozzi pointed out. ''So there's about 120 opinions on what needs to be done.''

But the backlash against the tire chosen for the Atlanta track was stunning in its ferocity, a near-unanimous chorus against Goodyear for choosing a compound that wouldn't wear out as quickly but apparently drained the life out of the action on the track.

''I felt like I was going to crash every single lap,'' said Gordon, who started on the pole and finished fifth. ''This car, this tire, at this racetrack, was just terrible.''

Car adds to challenge

The Car of Tomorrow, which is in its first full season of Cup racing, isn't making Goodyear's job any easier. The car is designed to improve safety, but its bigger, bulkier frame makes it tougher to drive and provides a new challenge for tire engineers.

Drivers rarely got in more than a couple of laps at top speeds Sunday before their tires began to lose grip. That turned the event into nothing more than follow-the-leader, with everyone fighting for control of their own car rather than worrying about competing with those around them.

''I don't think the race was all that exciting,'' third-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. ''We couldn't run side by side. We'd wreck. We had to let each other go by. Every time you got beside a guy, you were just like, 'Take it.' I couldn't go in the corner side by side. No one else out there really could, either.''

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter defended Goodyear, pointing out there were no major crashes.

''Goodyear always puts safety first, and there were no tire failures,'' Hunter said. ''There's no doubt this car is harder to drive and as a result, there's a bigger premium on the driver's ability.''

Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark said he already spoke with a top Goodyear official, Stu Grant, to let him know the track is available for as much testing as needed before the Oct. 26 race.