Adam Jordan, tire specialist on the Carl Edwards team, checks tires after they came off the car during the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS — It's one of the biggest events of the year at a venue intended to help NASCAR showcase its racing.

Instead, Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway left everyone apologizing to the fans for what could only be called a fiasco.

Hopefully NASCAR can bounce back better than Goodyear's tires did over the course of a chaotic caution-filled race that ended with Jimmie Johnson winning his second Brickyard in three years.

Tire troubles derailed one of NASCAR's crown jewel events when Goodyear's product wasn't durable to withstand more than 10 or so laps at a time.

"Every lap. Every lap I was concerned about it. Every corner, for that matter," said Johnson, who beat Carl Edwards to the finish in a seven-lap sprint to the checkered flag.

"As a group, we all knew we couldn't push the envelope. I knew at the end, a seven-lap shootout, I could blast it off in there and I'd be OK."

Johnson was indeed OK. Goodyear and NASCAR were not OK, left to explain why the race became a debacle.

The tire issue cropped up early Saturday, when drivers learned during the first practice they could only last anywhere from three to 10 laps before the rubber wore down to the cords. NASCAR and Goodyear hoped the conditions would improve — as it has in years past — once enough rubber was laid down on the track.

But the first-time use of the Car of Tomorrow prevented any improvement because of the lack of downforce on the car, combined with its higher center of gravity, created conditions that made it very hard on the right side tires. No matter how much rubber was laid on Indy's notoriously abrasive surface, the tires still weren't strong enough to last more than about 10 laps.

"We came with the best tire we had for the conditions and we fell short. We'll try to get it right," said Greg Stucker, director of race tire sales for Goodyear.

"I don't think anybody likes to race like this, us included. We'll do what we can to make it better."

There were 11 total yellow flags, and NASCAR had to throw six competition cautions to force teams to pit and change their tires.

It meant the longest green-flag run was an embarrassing 12 laps, causing teams to fear both tire failures and a possible supply shortage. Goodyear shipped in 800 tires earmarked for use next week in Pocono before the race, but they ultimately weren't needed.

It was little consolation as drivers feared going full speed and crew chiefs were forced to gamble on tire strategy. No one was certain when NASCAR would call a caution, or if the sanctioning body would eventually decide to let the drivers go as long as they wanted.

NASCAR never chanced it, calling cautions every 10-to-12 laps as vice president of competition Robin Pemberton spent the race on pit road, examining tires and talking to frustrated crew chiefs.