Goodyear announced today it will utilize a softer right-side tire compound for the NASCAR Cup teams competing in next Saturday night\u2019s crown jewel Bass Pro Shops Night Race, September 13.<\/p>\n
Goodyear Senior Project Manager for NASCAR Mark Keto said the tire company hopes the specific tire they have selected\u00a0leads to\u00a0a tire-management component\u00a0in the\u00a0teams\u2019 overall race strategy.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually in the fall race, we see higher track temps than in the spring, and the cars put more rubber down,\u201d Keto said. \u201cWe decided to make a right-side compound adjustment to try to get more treadwear on a rubbered-in race track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keto said the softer tire could be a match for Bristol\u2019s \u201cfinicky\u201d concrete and the combined unpredictable weather conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s softer, but not softer in the sense that we\u2019re trying to add a bunch of grip,\u201d Keto explained. \u201cIt\u2019s softer in the sense of we\u2019re trying to get more tread wear. When we know the track takes rubber and is rubbered in, obviously, tire wear and tire fall off get reduced. We are trying to get more tread wear when the track has rubber on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Event officials hope the change leads to even more competitive and exciting racing with additional tire fall-off, more racing strategy put into play and as a result more thrilling side-by-side on-track battles. Both drivers and fans absolutely loved the action from the 2024 Food City 500, which was won by Denny Hamlin in a classic\u00a0throwback tire-management duel that\u00a0featured\u00a054\u00a0lead changes among 16 drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have all chased after that one magical race that we had (in 2024) with really high tire wear and tried to recreate some of it,\u201d said Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting how that racetrack creates really high tire wear at one point and then you come back the next day and don\u2019t see any of it. It\u2019s just weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last two races have been claimed by the speeding-bullet of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy of Kyle Larson, who led more than 400 laps in each race en route to taking the checkered flags. Larson will try for\u00a0his third straight Bristol victory\u00a0next Saturday, which only\u00a0four\u00a0drivers have accomplished in NASCAR history.<\/p>\n
\u201cKyle Larson has been dominant of late, but this change from Goodyear may throw him a curveball next week,\u201d said BMS President and General Manager Jerry Caldwell. \u201cWe will see how the softer tire Goodyear is bringing plays out and impacts the racing here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many drivers, crew chiefs and even Goodyear officials were left scratching their collective heads after this spring\u2019s Cup race, where there was tire fall off in practice and qualifying, but not on race day.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the spring race we thought it was going to be high wear and we all rode around on the bottom and went really slow for a while and then a couple of guys decided they were just gonna go fast to see what would happen and their tires never wore out,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting couple of years there trying to figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Chevy for Trackhouse Racing, said the teams saw firsthand how the weather impacted the situation at April\u2019s Food City 500.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learned this spring that the weather is such a dictating thing,\u201d\u00a0said Chastain, currently 8th in the Playoff standings. \u201cOn Saturday we had tires shredding apart and then the weather warmed up on Sunday and we made really long runs, way longer than we thought we could on Saturday. The weather up and down definitely changes how this rubber is reacting with the concrete at Bristol. We will be paying very close attention to every degree of it next weekend, whether it is the ambient temperature or how the sun is hitting the track and the corresponding track temperatures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goodyear said the race teams have asked them to be \u201caggressive\u201d in their tire selections, especially at the short tracks and road courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cA softer tire is going to\u00a0mean\u00a0more wear,\u201d\u00a0said Bowman, who is 15th in the Playoff order after finishing 31st at Darlington. \u201cWe will wait and see what happens. We will probably be on cords in 15 to 20 laps during practice and then go much longer during the race. Who knows how much longer, though? It will be interesting to see how it works out. We all want high tire wear. The Next Gen car has made passing pretty difficult there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recent Southern 500 winner at Darlington Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops machine for Joe Gibbs Racing, said the teams will have to take advantage of practice to see how the softer tire ultimately reacts and then make a call from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cBristol has been such an odd racetrack,\u201d Briscoe said. \u201cFrom the tire standpoint, it seems like it\u2019s just so temperature sensitive. If we go there and it\u2019s warm, it\u2019s one temperature for our tires the last 120 laps. If it\u2019s cold, it lasts maybe 40 laps. It\u2019s very odd just how that track has really changed over the course of the last two years. So with it being a different tire, it definitely throws a wrench into things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chastain says at the end of the day he and all of the teams put their trust in Goodyear to make the right call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the best tire manufacturer in the world,\u201d Chastain said. \u201cI don\u2019t think they want tire drama like we had a couple years ago. At the end of the day, it all has to go through the tire to get to the track. I trust the folks at Goodyear to do what they do best. This is their wheelhouse, pun intended. I trust them to bring a good tire that\u2019s going to work for me and be reliable and also pay a penalty if I abuse it and it\u2019s going to slow down later in the run. Whatever it is, we will learn from it. That\u2019s why we have practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the most memorable moments in NASCAR history have taken place during the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on the super-challenging .533-mile high-banked concrete oval. NASCAR\u2019s best drivers will go doorhandle to doorhandle \u2013 NASCAR Playoff style \u2013 and only the strongest will survive 500 laps of mayhem and chaos on the iconic short track.<\/p>\n
In the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m. USA Network and PRN Radio), you\u2019ll get to see all of your favorite drivers racing hard to advance in the Playoffs. Top favorites include recent Night Race winners Hamlin and Larson, fan-favorites Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney, Darlington winner Briscoe as well as young guns William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell. Four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention after the checkered flag falls.<\/p>\n
Sparks are sure to fly in the Food City 300, as NASCAR Xfinity Series favorites Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love, Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed will be trying to get off to a great start in the Round of 12 Playoffs (Sept. 12, 7:30 p.m., The CW and PRN Radio).<\/p>\n
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Daniel Hemric, Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth, defending winner Layne Riggs, spring Bristol winner Chandler Smith will be among the talented drivers battling for the victory Thursday night in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics. The race is round two in the Round of 10 Playoffs (Sept. 11, 8 p.m., FS1 and PRN Radio). ARCA Menard Series rising stars will take on the challenging half-mile bullring in the Bush\u2019s Beans 200 as part of a Thursday night doubleheader (Sept. 11, 5:30 p.m., FS1).\u00a0<\/p>\n