You might say that the Goodyear tires will be smooth operators for this weekend’s racing action at Texas Motor Speedway.
Due to repaving of the 1.5-mile track prior to the 2017 season, Goodyear will distribute the same tire compound to be used by all three racing series in action at the Fort Worth, Texas facility.
In a media release, Goodyear said the reason for all three series using the same tires is TMS’s smooth surface creates several challenges when it comes to tire fall off and grip:
* Fresh asphalt has a lot of grip, which generates a lot of speed and heat in the tires.
* Because the new surface is very smooth it doesn’t allow the opportunity for the tires to shed rubber, which could also cause heat problems.
* Because little rubber gets worked into the track it is harder to create multiple racing grooves.
“The smooth track surface at Texas dictates that we bring a tire set-up that runs as cool as possible because tire wear will be at a minimum,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “We tested extensively there last year (January and August 2018) and learned a lot about that new surface.
“This being only the fifth race for the Cup cars on this repave, the track has not had a chance to weather in like it will over the next few seasons. While it’s important for us to bring the right tire, it also becomes quite a team effort between Goodyear, NASCAR and the track to make sure that the asphalt is prepared even before teams arrive for race weekend.
“We provide the speedway with tires for them to run on their ‘tire monster’ and rubber-in the surface. Doing that goes a long way to creating a second groove, and that has a positive impact on the racing.”
The two tests last year resulted in a new tire setup for last fall’s playoff races at Texas, including a right-side tire that is designed to wear more and run cooler, the media release stated.
This is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Cup and Xfinity teams ran at this track last November, but it is the first time Gander Outdoors Truck teams have run this set-up at Texas.
For the Trucks, both the left-side and right-side feature construction and compound changes, which will add grip for those teams.
As on all NASCAR ovals greater than 1 mile in length, teams are required to run liners in all four tire positions at Auto Club. Air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
Here’s the tire info for this week:
Set limits: Cup: three sets for practice, one set for qualifying and9sets for race; Xfinity:sevensets for the event;Trucks: five sets for the event.
Tire Codes: Left-side – D-4748; Right-side – D-4796.
Tire Circumference: Left-side – 2,227 mm (87.68 in.); Right-side – 2,251 mm (88.62 in.).
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front - 22 psi; Left Rear - 22 psi; Right Front - 52 psi; Right Rear - 50 psi.