NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 28 – 90 laps / 221 miles Watkins Glen International (2.454-mile road course) – Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Fast Facts for September 14-15, 2024

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Road Course Radials

Set limits: Cup: 2 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 6 sets for the race

(5 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)

Tire Code: D-5232 (same on all four tire positions)

Tire Circumference: 2,275 mm (89.57 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 26 psi; Right Front — 24 psi;
Left Rear — 21 psi; Right Rear — 21 psi

Storyline – New tire will introduce more fall-off to Watkins Glena race: Watkins Glen International has traditionally been the superspeedway of road courses for NASCAR Cup cars with high speeds and minimal tire wear.  The racing at the Southern Tier, New York track will look dramatically different this year, with the new Goodyear tire producing three seconds of lap-time fall-off over the course of a run.  Fall-off will change the thinking of teams that may not just be able to back-time from the end of the race and pit when their fuel window opens up.  Tire wear will be a factor and tire management will come more into play as race runs progress.  Goodyear tested at The Glen this summer and this tire came out of that test, with overall positive feedback from the drivers who participated.

“In our ongoing efforts to introduce more fall-off, we tested at Watkins Glen in June and came out with a new tire that will accomplish that goal,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing.  “Based on our test, and a subsequent WFT test with the manufacturers, we should see around three seconds of fall-off per lap over a run.  That, of course, can mean more passing throughout the race.  It’s always tricky on road courses as drivers take advantage of a limited number of ‘passing zones,’ so the increased fall-off should lead to more comers and goers as some drivers manage their tires and gain on the field as the runs go on.”

Notes – Cup cars emerge from Goodyear test with new tire at Watkins Glen: Being on 18-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen this week . . . this is a different tire set-up than these teams ran at The Glen last year, featuring both a compound change and construction update . . . this tire came out of a Goodyear test at The Glen on June 26-27 . . . Cup teams (drivers) participating in that test were the No, 22 Team Penske Ford (Joey Logano), No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota (Tyler Reddick) and No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Daniel Suarez) . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars do not run inner liners in any of their tires.

Wet Weather Tires – Goodyear bringing white-lettered wet weather tires to Watkins Glen: Goodyear will bring its 18-inch wet weather radial tires to Watkins Glen for the Cup cars, should NASCAR determine that conditions warrant . . . Cup teams will have a maximum of 6 sets of wet weather tires for the event . . . NASCAR Cup teams last ran the wet weather tire in competition at Chicago in July . . . in addition to the obvious difference of a tread pattern versus Goodyear’s dry weather “slick” tires, the “Goodyear” and “Eagle” lettering on the sidewalls of the wet weather tires is white, not the standard yellow.

NASCAR Xfinity Series – Race No. 25 – 82 laps / 201 miles Watkins Glen International (2.454-mile road course) – Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Fast Facts for September 13-14, 2024

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 15-inch Road Course Radials

Set limits: Xfinity: 5 sets for the event

Tire Code: D-6144 (same on all four tire positions)

Tire Circumference: 2,240 mm (88.19 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 26 psi; Right Front — 24 psi;
Left Rear — 21 psi; Right Rear — 21 psi

Notes – Xfinity teams on standard road course tire at Watkins Glen: Being on 15-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will run a different tire than those in the Cup Series at Watkins Glen this weekend . . . this is a different tire than Xfinity teams ran at this track last season . . . compared to 2023, this tire features a construction update . . . this tire was confirmed at a Goodyear test at Watkins Glen on June 26-27 . . . Xfinity teams (drivers) participating in that test were the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (Jesse Love), No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota (John Hunter Nemecheck) and No. 39 RSS Racing Ford (Ryan Sieg) . . . this tire has been run by Xfinity teams at Chicago, COTA, Portland and Sonoma already this season . . . as on all NASCAR road courses, Xfinity teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Watkins Glen.

Wet Weather Tires – White-lettered tires on hand: Goodyear will bring its 15-inch wet weather radials to Watkins Glen for use by Xfinity Series teams, should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant . . . teams will have 5 sets of wets available for the event, with a maximum of 4 sets for the race . . . Xfinity teams last ran in wet conditions at New Hampshire in June . . . in addition to the obvious difference of a tread pattern versus Goodyear’s dry weather “slick” tires, the “Goodyear” and “Eagle” lettering on the sidewalls of the wet weather tires is white, not the standard yellow.

— Goodyear Racing —