If Goodyear tires at Richmond Raceway look familiar this weekend, there’s a good reason.
Teams competing in Friday’s Xfinity and Saturday’s Cup races will have the same Goodyear tire compounds as they raced upon in the spring at the 3/4-mile bullring in April.
“Richmond is simply one of the more high-wear tracks on the NASCAR circuit,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, said in a media release. “What we’ve seen this year with this higher downforce package, with the cars more ‘in the track’ and with less lateral slip, wear is down a bit compared to 2018.
“Saying that, tires are still very important at Richmond. The tread compounds we bring do a good job rubbering in the track, creating multiple racing grooves throughout the race.”
As a result, tire management is a significant element for this weekend’s races, “meaninga good amount of passing throughout the field as a run progresses,”according to the Goodyear media release. “Richmond has traditionally lined up with a couple other tracks of similar length – New Hampshire and Phoenix – but its ‘racy’ configuration requires more stagger (difference in height between the shorter left-side tire and the taller right-side tire) be built into the tire set-up.”
NOTES:This is the only track at which Cup or Xfinity teams will run either of these two Goodyear tire codes. …As on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run liners in their tires at Richmond.
Here is the information for this weekend’s tires at Richmond:
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials
Set limits: Cup: Three sets for practice, one set for qualifying and 10 sets for the race (nine race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying or practice); Xfinity: Six sets for the event
Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4874; Right-side -- D-4876
Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 2,214 mm (87.17 in.); Right-side -- 2,244 mm (88.35 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:Left Front -- 12 psi; Left Rear – 12 psi; Right Front -- 30 psi; Right Rear -- 27 psi