The 2026 Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix saw a high number of tire failures, with issues that emerged in the second stage raising serious concerns about Goodyear’s products and the sport’s overall quality control. But Denny Hamlin ruled out the idea that the failures were due to a quality issue. Instead, he blamed the teams.
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There is a recommended level of tire pressure that cars need to have during a race, which for Phoenix, was 14 psi in the left front, 30 psi in the right front, 14 psi in the left rear, and 26 psi in the right rear. But teams generally opt to lower this, particularly on the right side, to gain a speed advantage. The lower the pressure on the right side, the better the mechanical grip and downforce. But the risk of tire failure increases in tandem with that.
Hamlin said, “It’s the teams. We’re just pushing it. We certainly know that the lower the air pressure, the faster you’re going to be in the long run. These teams just keep pushing it. So what they do is they get somewhat comfortable in practice.
“They run the first run of the race, see where things are. Then all of a sudden they’re like, “All right, well, let me take another tenth or two out of the tire,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver added.
Hamlin‘s explanation clarified why there weren’t any issues in the first stage, and why they only appeared in the second. There were a total of 12 cautions during the race. The situation went as far as multiple cars pitting during a single caution due to issues with their tires. But then, it appears to have been their own doing.
Teams need to be wary of how much pressure they choose to reduce in each tire. Going far below the numbers recommended by Goodyear could potentially put safety at risk.
Having spent time on the pit box, former driver and crew chief Steve Letarte understands why teams want to run lower air pressure. However, he wants NASCAR to reconsider the number of tire sets allowed during a race. The current limit is eight sets, but he believes that number should be increased to ten.
Letarte also absolved Goodyear of any blame for the Phoenix incident.
