Goodyear Fast Facts — Nashville
GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES
NASCAR Cup Series – Race No. 17 – 300 laps / 400 miles
Nashville Superspeedway (1.333-mile oval) – Lebanon, Tenn.
Fast Facts for June 24-25, 2023
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits: Cup – 3 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 10 sets for the race (9 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5186; Right-side — D-5190
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,263 mm (89.09 in.); Right-side — 2,279 mm (89.72 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear — 22 psi;
Right Front — 44 psi; Right Rear — 42 psi
Storyline – Nashville’s track surface provides multiple challenges: Nashville Superspeedway is unique among NASCAR race tracks, being the longest concrete track on the Cup circuit at 1.333 miles. That surface, along with the traction compound that the track applies to it, make it tough for drivers and teams to keep up with. Concrete always poses a challenge in taking rubber, so Goodyear designs its tread compounds to do that as quickly and consistently as possible. With the traction compound being applied just off the apron as well as up near the wall, drivers will likely use the lower lane early in the event and then some will move up the track searching for fresh concrete. Creating those multiple racing grooves is the goal.
“This week at Nashville we have a concrete surface to tackle, which means our number one goal is to lay down rubber,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “With the aid of some traction compound and tires being dragged on the surface before we arrive, we will do that fairly quickly. After that, drivers will start to move up the track to find some grip they get from the fresher concrete. Having a full practice with three sets of tires on Friday, teams will get a good idea of how the surface evolves over the course of the weekend, and that will make for a good race on Sunday.”
Notes – Cup teams switch to Fontana/Vegas/Kansas tire set-up for Nashville: Being on an 18-inch bead diameter tire, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the NASCAR Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series at Nashville this Cup teams have run this same combination of left- and right-side tires at Fontana, Las Vegas and Kansas earlier this season . . . this is a different tire set-up than Cup teams ran at this track last season, with construction updates on both sides of the car . . .
