NASCAR tires are made to stay resilient in the face of high temperatures and speed. Even so, safety-threatening tire bursts and failures aren’t uncommon in the sport. For such and other reasons, NASCAR’s engineering team is heavily involved with the manufacturing process. End of the day, what is the economic weight of all the research and manufacturing that goes behind this intricate race car component?
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Each tire used in a stock car can cost anywhere between $350 to $500. The exact figure depends on the particular track type and car that the tire is made for. Where this cost reflects heavily is in the number of tires that are used in a single race. A full set of tires could cost a team from $1400 to $2000.
The average number of pit stops in a NASCAR race varies between 3 and 5 depending on track conditions and other incidents. This means that tires could potentially set a car back by around $20,000 every race. Putting things into further perspective is the fact that NASCAR teams spent a combined $35 million on tires during the 2015 season.
With races like the Daytona 500 eating up 20-24 tires per car every time, the costs are bound to shoot up. However, the brighter side of the matter is that none of these tires go to waste. Once they are used on the track, they go back to the manufacturer’s facility to be recycled and used elsewhere.
Goodyear and its tire leasing system with NASCAR
Though it is too far back in history now, the story behind NASCAR tires is a crash-filled war between different tire makers. Back when NASCAR launched, Firestone was the official supplier of tires for the promotion. Goodyear entered the fray in 1969, followed by makers like Hoosier and McCreary Tire & Rubber Company. Nearly three decades later, Goodyear prevailed over them all and was the last one left standing when NASCAR decided to make it its sole partner in 1997.
Today, the company produces no less than 100,000 tires every year exclusively to be used in stock car racing. One key aspect of the cost of these tires is that none of them are technically “sold” to the teams. They are leased to the racing outfits which in turn use and return the tires after every race. The money that NASCAR puts into tires is only for the use of it.
Various reports suggest that the cost of building a car in the top tier can end up around the $400,000 mark. Put up against this, tires are but a small weight on the purse.
