DARLINGTON, S.C. — A day after Tony Stewart assailed Goodyear for the tires it provided at Atlanta Motor Speedway, three other drivers echoed his complaints — but without the same venom.

"I think he went a little overboard," four-time series champion Jeff Gordon said. "He kind of made it personal."

Gordon, Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman all tested tires for Goodyear at the newly paved Darlington Raceway Monday, and all agreed the rubber at Atlanta wasn't favorable for driving conditions.

But none was as angry as Stewart, who said Goodyear gave him "the most pathetic racing tire I've ever been on in my professional career."

Goodyear officials participating in Monday's test refused to comment, and the garage was closed to media. Still, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Casey Mears and Brad Keselowski crashed the test and took a spin on the new surface in an SUV.

But the tire company issued a statement defending its Atlanta product, while promising to retest the rubber before the series returns to the track in October.

"We provided what we believed were the best possible products for the races this past weekend," the company said. "We believe that our engineering, research and tire development is second to none. We accept that drivers will have their own opinions about tires."

"The tire thing is a little blown out of proportion," Newman said. "There's a lot of things (Stewart) said that were true. Obviously, he took it to another level. That's Tony."