Re: hard rubber
In the early 50's bleach was found to soften tire rubber. A big problem was the tire surface had to be soaked for almost a week for the bleach to penetrate deep enough to do any good on the track. Even then it was only good for qualifying and the dash before the treated surface was scrubbed off. We had to change tires between the dash and the heat race. It didn't take long for the various racing associations to outlaw the practice. It did gain us 2 tenths on a 1/4 mile track though.
Almost all racing associations have spec tires now and they are checked with a durometer.
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