In March, tires wore out super fast; It turned out to be a happy accident
Goodyear is bringing the same tire compounds they used in the last three Bristol races. That includes the race in March which saw extreme tire wear and brought a range of chaos to the show.
In the middle of the race, Goodyear initially panicked. They held a press conference mid-race for what they thought would be damage control.
Goodyear calls it a ‘tough situation’ but fans see a great Bristol race
Instead, after the race, drivers were overwhelmingly satisfied with the wear of the tire. And for the fans, it was the same result.
A change of strategy…
Since that race, Goodyear has changed gears. They have not fixed the situation from March and instead hope for more of the same.
A tire test was held July 16-17 to figure out why the tires from the Spring and Fall races reacted very differently. They discovered the tire wear was caused by the use of resin applied to the track surface. PJ1 was used in the September 2023 race, resin was not used. But for March, resin was used. The test confirmed the same results.
Granted, teams will now come into the race with a better plan. Unlike March, teams will now focus setups on saving tires. It’s exactly what the sport needs, specifically on short tracks.
After Bristol tire wear issues, Goodyear wants to go in that direction
Goodyear comments on the tire for Bristol Motor Speedway
“After all the work the sport’s stakeholders have put in on the Next Gen car and the short track package, the spring race at Bristol will go down as a day that really moved the needle,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing.
“We have always said at Goodyear that we want to bring set-ups with the most grip possible while having a set of tires go a full fuel run. When we had the high wear race at Bristol in March, and saw the response from all involved, it really opened up the possibilities of what we could do.”
“The bottom line is . . . tire wear is good for racing. Drivers like that tire management is a factor and that they play a bigger part in the race, it’s a challenge for teams to come up with a well balanced car set-up and fans get treated to more passing on the track.”
Bristol Motor Speedway
Tire Info
Tire:
Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits:
Cup: 2 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 11 sets for the race(10 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)
Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-5170
Right-side — D-5206
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,254 mm (88.74 in.)
Right-side — 2,276 mm (89.61 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
left Front — 16 psi; Left Rear — 18 psi;
Right Front — 46 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi
NASCAR reacts after accidentally creating more tire wear at Bristol
