NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 26 – 367 laps / 501 miles Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval) – Darlington, S.C.

Fast Facts for August 31-September 1, 2024

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials

Set limits: Cup: 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 13 sets for the race (12 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5184; Right-side — D-5222

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,263 mm (89.09 in.); Right-side — 2,277 mm (89.65 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear – 22 psi; Right Front — 48 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi

Storyline – Darlington’s abrasive nature leads to a busy pit road: Darlington’s track surface is probably the most abrasive on the NASCAR Cup circuit, wearing tires to the point of nearly three seconds of lap-time fall-off over anything approaching a full fuel run.  With 13 sets of tires for the 367-lap race, teams will likely have to manage their tires to make them last, having to go an average of 28.23 laps per set if they use all their sets.  Fresh tires are so important — if a team takes on a set and a caution comes out just a handful of laps later, they will likely pit again.  That keeps the teams’ pit crews on their toes, and makes them a critical part of the event with four-tire stops all race.  From the driver’s seat, tire management will be a major factor.  Drivers that are easier on their tires early in a run will have their lap times fall off less rapidly, thus gaining relative to the field.  That, of course, leads to more passing on the track.

“Darlington is well known as high wear race track,” said Greg Stucker Goodyear’s director of racing.  “Drivers and teams need to manage both their tire wear and how they use their 13 race sets.  With significant fall-off after just a few laps, reaching three seconds over a longer run, tire management is something a driver can do to positively impact the race.  Tire wear and fall-off lead to more ‘comers’ and ‘goers’ amongst the drivers, with an emphasis on being faster later in a run.  With teams taking four tires on every stop, pit crews will also play a key part in the race, with quick and efficient pit stops helping gain spots on pit road.”

Notes – Cup cars on spring tire set-up at Darlington: Being on 18-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity Series at Darlington this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that these teams ran at Darlington and on the Charlotte oval in May . . . this right-side tire code is the most popular in the 2024 Goodyear tire lineup, being run at seven different tracks in 2024 – Las Vegas, Kansas, Charlotte, Nashville, Pocono and Homestead, in addition to Darlington . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars do not run inner liners in any of their tires.

NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 23 — 147 laps / 201 miles Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval) – Darlington, S.C.

Fast Facts for August 30-31, 2024

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 15-inch Speedway Radials

Set limits: Xfinity: 6 sets for the event

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-6106; Right-side — D-6130

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,225 mm (87.60 in.); Right-side — 2,250 mm (88.58 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 18 psi; Left Rear – 18 psi; Right Front — 48 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi

Notes –Xfinity teams on established tire set-up at Darlington: Being on 15-inch bead diameter tires, Xfinity Series teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Cup Series at Darlington this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that these teams have run at Darlington since 2022 . . . while this exact tire set-up is only run at Darlington in 2024, this left-side tire has already been run by these teams at Bristol, Dover, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Pocono this season, while this right-side tire was run on the Charlotte oval . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, Xfinity teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Darlington . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

— Goodyear Racing —