2018 Las Vegas - Kobalt 400 - Pre Race Thread

TIRE CODES

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Set limits: Cup:
4 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying/start of race and 8 sets for race;
Xfinity: 7 sets for the event

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4724; Right-side -- D-4776

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 2,222 mm (87.48 in.);
Right-side -- 2,253 mm (88.70 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 22 psi; Left Rear -- 22 psi;
Right Front -- 54 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi

Storyline - Goodyear designs a different source of tire wear for Las Vegas: Coming off a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway which wears tires at a great rate, NASCAR visits Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, a track where Goodyear has a goal of introducing tire wear by its choice of tread compounds. Despite last being repaved in 2006, the track surface at Las Vegas does not wear tires like one would expect from 12-year-old asphalt. With a goal of having more tire fall-off over the course of a run, Goodyear tested at the track in advance of the 2017 race and designed a new tire set-up to accomplish just that. Despite a minor construction update to the Las Vegas right-side tire for 2018, the tire compounds remain the same. Cup teams also tested on this exact combination of tires at a NASCAR organizational test in January, so they have a good baseline coming into this weekend.

"At tracks like Las Vegas that don't naturally wear tires, it was a goal of ours and NASCAR's that we bring compounds that fall off more over the course of a fuel run," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "Tire wear is not a bad thing - it's actually a very good thing. First, when a tire wears, it allows more of the heat that is generated by the 200 mile per hour speeds to dissipate through the tread, and a 'cooler' tire performs better on the track. Second, with tire wear and fall-off, tire management comes more into play, meaning that some drivers will be fast early in a run and some that conserve their tires will be faster later. That always creates to a lot of 'comers' and 'goers,' more passing and better racing."

Notes - Cup. Xfinity teams on new right-side tire at Las Vegas: Teams in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will run a completely different tire set-up than those in the Camping World Truck Series at Las Vegas this week . . . Cup and Xfinity teams will run the same left-side tire they ran at Las Vegas last year . . . this new right-side tire features a minor construction update vs. what was run in 2017 . . . like last season, this right-side tire is a multi-zone tread tire, featuring a two-inch inboard compound for heat resistance (Endurance Zone) and a 10-inch outboard compound for enhanced grip (Traction Zone) . . . Cup teams ran this exact combination of left- and right-side tires at the NASCAR organizational test at Las Vegas on January 31-February 1 . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run liners in all four tire positions at Las Vegas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

TRUCK SERIES TIRE CODES

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Set limits: 6 sets for the event

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4670; Right-side -- D-4726

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 2,224 mm (87.56 in.);
Right-side -- 2,252 mm (88.66 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 24 psi; Left Rear -- 22 psi;
Right Front -- 54 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi

Notes: Teams in the Camping World Truck Series will run a completely different tire set-up than those in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series at Las Vegas this week . . . for the Trucks, this is the same tire set-up they ran at Las Vegas last September . . . Truck teams also ran this exact tire combination at Michigan last August . . . this right-side tire code is one of Goodyear's multi-zone tread tires, with a two-inch inboard compound (Endurance Zone) for heat resistance and a 10-inch outboard compound (Traction Zone) for grip . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run liners in all four tire positions at Las Vegas . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
 
The 9 showed up with the speed this week, hope they race good!
 
Bam! Blaney on the pole
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The rest here: https://www.nascar.com/results/race...0-presented-by-jiffy-lube/stn/livequalifying/
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Right?

That's why every time I speculated about it I made sure to include the phrase "I'm no engineer (or aerodynamics expert) but..."
Click to expand...

I knew when Nascar made some big changes to the cars in the front end area something was up this year. Standard Nascar radiators and oil coolers, Nascar hands out a common splitter now, nobody can use their own. Then they come up with this new inspection system.
 
StandOnIt said:
I knew when Nascar made some big changes to the cars in the front end area something was up this year. Standard Nascar radiators and oil coolers, Nascar hands out a common splitter now, nobody can use their own. Then they come up with this new inspection system.
Click to expand...
Yeah maybe whatever advantage the front end may have had was made obsolete with the changes.. or maybe the Ford guys just went in a new direction.. I have heard Joey's CC say that they had trouble moving away from what had been working for them in years previous but at the end of the season started to pick things up.

It's also way to early in the season to really know what we're looking at.. although tomorrow we'll have a better idea it still doesn't necessarily mean anything yet.
 
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Lots of cool schemes in the field again this week. Here's my favorite...
 

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The 9 team just cannot find practice speed whatsoever. Makes no sense.
 
aunty dive said:
They might be on worn tires looking for long run pace.
Click to expand...
Yeah I was thinking maybe they even had the car set up to factor in added rubber or track temp come tomorrow, but they didn't even make a 10 lap run.

They've found something in this last session though. 4th fastest and 5th in 10 lap. Something to build on.
 
The 9, 12, and 42 cars have me rock solid ngl. Loving the speed charts this weekend.
 
It's shaping up to be a good one IMO.I really have no idea, but I don't think we will see somebody dominate tomorrow. They are talking about the new tire also, that's a good sign.
 
Anyone else still adjusting to Paul Menard driving the 21? Seeing him in a Wood Brothers firesuit just looks weird.
 
Freakin' love this sport. I love this stuff. I wake up on race mornings, and it's like Christmas. Can't wait. Toyotas are slow, but who the hell knows? Two weeks, and I'm there live. After Phoenix, I'll be in vapor lock. Love this. Have a great race day everybody!
 
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