Falcon, all newbies chunk tires until they manage to go around the track without hitting any thing and have trimmed their bodies so it doesn't tuck in and cut the tire. I used to go through a set or two per race and now I can go four or five races per set. (After the fifth race they are pretty much worn out but still good for practice.)
Going to a harder compound will only cause you to crash more and chunk more. Just race on the chunked tires as long as you can to get practice so you don't hit every board on the track.
