I’m looking forward to this tire set-up. Could be a game changer.
Goodyear Fast Facts — Richmond
NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 23
400 laps / 300 miles
Richmond Raceway (0.75-mile oval) – Richmond, Va.
Fast Facts for August 10-11, 2024
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits:
Prime – 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 7 sets for the race
(6 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying);
Option – 1 set for practice and 2 sets for the race
Tire Codes:
Prime — Left-side — D-5208; Right-side — D-5220;
Option — Left-side — D-5224; Right-side — D-5226
Tire Circumference (Prime & Option):
Left-side — 2,249 mm (88.54 in.);
Right-side — 2,276 mm (89.61 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation (Prime & Option):
Left Front — 12 psi; Left Rear — 12 psi;
Right Front — 30 psi; Right Rear — 26 psi
Storyline – Cup teams have both “Prime” and “Option” tires at Richmond: After bringing an “Option” tire to the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May, Goodyear will provide the same at a points paying race for the first time at Richmond Raceway this weekend. The Option tire set-up was originally tested at North Wilkesboro in March, raced there in the All-Star race and then tested at Iowa in May. The goal of the Option is to provide an increase in grip with more wear and lap-time fall-off to provide the teams an additional tool to use for strategic purposes. Because the track surface at Richmond is quite abrasive, managing tire wear and fall-off will be much more critical than on the newly repaved North Wilkesboro. The Prime tires will carry Goodyear’s standard yellow sidewall lettering, while the Option tires will feature red letters.
“Bringing the Option tire to Richmond is a great step and an exciting opportunity for the sport,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “The work on NASCAR’s short track package has been a cooperative effort by the entire industry, and we are excited to be a big part of that. Richmond seemed like a natural place to do this because the Option tire has the same tread compound as our wet weather tire, and we ran the wets at the start of the spring race in Richmond very successfully. In dry conditions, the Option tire will provide a significant gain in lap times over the Prime, but will fall off much quicker. This will bring both strategy and tire management into play as teams will have to decide the best time to run their two race sets of Options and drivers will have to manage their tires to maximize their performance.”
Notes – Construction update on “Prime” right-side tire for Cup cars: Being on 18-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity Series at Richmond this weekend . . . this Prime left-side tire is the same one Cup teams ran at Richmond in March, with a different right-side (construction update) . . . this Prime tire set-up has been run by these teams ran at North Wilkesboro, Gateway and Iowa earlier this season . . . 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 Richmond: Goodyear will bring its 18-inch wet weather radial tires to Richmond for the Cup cars, should NASCAR determine that conditions warrant . . . Cup teams will have a maximum of 4 sets of wet weather tires for the event . . . NASCAR Cup teams last ran the wet weather tire in competition at Chicago in July . . . the last time for Cup in the wet on a short track was at New Hampshire in June . . . they also ran in the wet at Richmond this March . . . 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.
