NASCAR Cup Series drivers and crew chiefs will have to make a major adjustment to a new tire combination Goodyear has provided for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The right sides are the option tire used at North Wilkesboro and Richmond earlier this year—with a different tire code based solely on a change in the color of the lettering of the sidewall.
The left-side tires are the softest Goodyear has ever brought to Martinsville, designed to add grip and increase fall-off, which is expected to be approximately one second per lap under race conditions—a significant number give that Cup cars cover the 0.526-mile distance in just over 20 seconds.
The new combination—tested by Cup drivers Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland in August—is a marked departure from the tries used in the spring, when fresh rubber made a minimal difference in performance.
“It adds another element, for sure,” said Chris Gabehart, crew chief for Playoff driver Denny Hamlin, who leads all full-time active Cup drivers with five victories at the venerable short track. “Without it, you look at the last several Martinsville races, and you know kind of how they’re going to play out. They’re going to be about staying out and minimal time on pit road and keeping track position.
“But we’ve certainly seen Martinsville of old where handling, tire fall-off and tire management matters a lot. When a caution comes out just 15 laps into a run, you come in and you get more tires.
“So we all know what Martinsville’s capable of, but we know what it’s been lately. Will this tire make the difference and (make us) have to adjust? We’ll see. But it’s definitely an added element.”
Hamlin, however, will face an unwanted, unexpected element in Sunday’s race. After he set what turned out to be the third-fastest time in Saturday’s 45-minute practice session, the throttle on his No. 11 Toyota stuck entering Turn 3 on his 33rd lap.
Hamlin’s car broke loose and spun, and the rear end slammed into the outside wall, damaging the Camry extensively and eliminating the possibility of a qualifying run. Accordingly, Hamlin will start from the rear on Sunday and likely will have a less-than-desirable pit stall.
And what made the throttle stick? A chunk of rubber from degrading tires lodged within the throttle body.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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