Short track racing quality has been a big challenge since the Next Gen Cup Series race cars were introduced. Tire wear has played a crucial role in the outcome of races during extended green-flag runs. After testing a softer tire at the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and the summer event at Richmond Raceway, plus a non-competitive test at Martinsville, Goodyear will introduce a new left-side tire to the NASCAR Ford, Chevy, and Toyota teams for the upcoming race at Martinsville Speedway.
The option tire tested at Wilkesboro and Richmond was well received by teams earlier this year, and Goodyear expects it to improve the racing action at Martinsville, according to a report from NASCAR.com. This “option” tire will be the standard right-side tires on the race cars at Martinsville. It produced more short-run speed, but wore out faster than the standard tire during long runs.
A new softer left-side tire will be available for teams during the race as well. This new tire is one of Goodyear’s softest compounds, and is expected to keep racing tight and competitive as teams manage speed and tire wear. It is not a requirement, but the NASCAR Ford teams may choose to race with them installed.
“This year has been one of great development and advances on our short-track tire package,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “The option tire that we ran at both North Wilkesboro and Richmond has been designed to give the Cup cars more grip early in a run and have lap times fall off more later. We come to Martinsville with that same right-side tread compound as part of the setup teams will run, along with a left-side tire that utilizes the ‘softest’ tread compound in our tire lineup.”
He added, “Martinsville is a tricky track for many reasons – not only the time of year we race there, but also the layout with the tight, concrete corners. We had a good test there in August and came out of it with this setup, which is another step forward on our short track package.”
Teams and drivers will be granted an extended 45-minute practice session ahead of the race, which is scheduled for Sunday, November 3rd, 2024.
“We did some testing at Martinsville back in August, which has created a new, even softer left-side tire,” said Brad Moran, NASCAR Cup Series managing director. “All the tires will be new there. We do have the extended practice. They have an additional set of practice tires to do some adjustments. We sure hope it creates some interesting racing, and how it’s all going to work out, it’s one of those deals where we’re really not going to know until we get them all out there on Sunday.”
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