For the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Richmond Raceway (Aug. 10-11), in addition to the standard ‘prime’ Goodyear racing tires, race teams will be allotted three sets of ‘option’ tires for use during the weekend – one set for practice, two for the race.
As was in place for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, the prime tire will be denoted by yellow lettering; the option tire by red lettering. The option tire is made from the same compound as the oval wet weather tires.
The allotment numbers are as such:
For the race, NASCAR will not mandate when teams use their sets. However, all four tires must match at all times.
To allow for additional on-track time for teams and drivers, NASCAR will adjust the practice procedure for Richmond. There will be one single 45-minute practice on Saturday for all cars leading into NASCAR Cup Series qualifying.
— NASCAR —
AND: Following up on the “Option” tire Goodyear Racing brought to the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May, NASCAR has decided to introduce this element into the points paying race at Richmond Raceway on August 10-11.
The event will feature a “Prime” tire, which is the same combination of left- and right-side tires Goodyear brought to Richmond in March, along with the same “Option” tire that was run by Cup teams at North Wilkesboro.
Based on NASCAR’s rules, Cup teams will have a total of two sets of tires for practice – one Prime and one Option. All teams will run a set of Primes in qualifying, and that set will be transferred into their race allotment as it is every event.
For the 400-lap, 300-mile Richmond race, Cup teams will have eight sets of stickers sets for the race – six Prime and two Option.
Below are quotes from key Goodyear Racing personnel on this announcement:
Stu Grant, Goodyear’s general manager of global race tires: “This year marks the 70th continuous year of Goodyear’s partnership with NASCAR. It’s a relationship built on mutual respect, trust and great communication. We are both focused on embracing change and moving the sport forward for the benefit of both our companies and especially for the fans. Changing the format of the upcoming Richmond Cup race and introducing an Option tire, is a great example of the success of that partnership.”
Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing: “As we continue the cooperative effort of the industry on short track package adjustments, we felt like Richmond was an excellent opportunity to build upon the results of the Option tire used at the All-Star race. The Option tire uses our wet weather tread compound, and we saw how that compound performed in the drying conditions of the opening laps at Richmond in the spring. We expect the Option tire to provide a significant lap time gain over the Prime, but fall-off will be greater, and tire management will be important in taking advantage of it at the right time.”
Mark Keto, NASCAR team leader: “The option tire set-up was originally tested in North Wilkesboro in March of this year and raced at the All-Star race. It was also tested at Iowa in May. The goal of the option was to provide a grip increase with more wear and fall-off to provide the teams an additional tool to use strategy during the race event. Although the Option provided an initial grip increase compared to the Prime, the fall-off was reduced during the cooler track conditions. As expected, tire wear at North Wilkesboro was not significantly different between the two, because of the newly paved track surface. Typically, repaved surfaces are non-abrasive and tire wear is minimal. The Richmond track surface is much more abrasive, and we already see a good amount of tire wear and fall-off. Depending on where the natural cautions occur, the teams typically split the stages into thirds, due to the amount of fall-off. We expect the Option tire to provide a significant initial grip increase, but the more abrasive track surface will make managing the lap time fall-off and tire wear much more critical compared to North Wilkesboro.”
— Goodyear —
