NASCAR will take its bags to the historic North Wilkesboro speedway for its All-Star race on May 19. The event is set to be an important one from a short-track racing package perspective as a new tire from Goodyear is set to debut in the race. The tire is a slick compound that the company originally developed for wet weather and will be among the three tire options that teams will have.
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Drivers will have two sets of “Prime” tires, the traditional slicks used on short tracks, two sets of “Option” tires, slicks that were developed for wet weather, and finally, rain tires which will be used in the event of rainfall. Teams can choose which of these tires they want to run on. Talking to WFMY News 2, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was hugely appreciative of the approach.
He said, “I like it because it gives us options. It gives the teams options to run. What they think is best for them. Anytime that we get all kind of stuck on the same tire at times, it seems like we just all run the same speed. So I like the idea of the driver playing a bigger role in your result and they certainly will.” Should the option tires serve their purpose, short-track racing, as we know it, could change.
Why did NASCAR choose North Wilkesboro to test Goodyear’s product?
The All-Star race is a non-points-paying event on the NASCAR schedule. It will be a 200-lap race with a caution after the first 100 laps. Teams must make a four-tire pit stop at this junction. The second caution will follow at the end of 150 laps where teams can choose whether they want to come into the pit road. The choice of tires during both stops will be the team’s decision.
Goodyear’s director of racing Greg Stucker said to Fox Sports last month, “At our North Wilkesboro test, there was significantly more lap-time fall-off with what has become the option tire than we had with the prime. We have been working very hard on our short-track tire package and we wanted to evaluate something that is more aggressive. The All-Star race format, in a non-points setting, is the perfect opportunity to do that.”
Many including Hamlin have been calling for different means to help improve the short track racing experience in the Next Gen car. With solutions like increased horsepower, rearview camera removal, and practice time extension clouding the air, Goodyear could be the one providing the million-dollar answer.
