In any motor race, tire strategy is hugely important, as Lightning McQueen found out the hard way. NASCAR is also another sport that depends on tire strategy, and there are different compounds to choose from. Aside from the regular tires, NASCAR and Goodyear introduced a softer option tire to increase grip and force teams into strategy calls. While the sanctioning body is trying to find a solution for a short-track package, it seems like the one-mile ovals are also on their radar. Well, for those calling out the inefficacies of the Next Gen car, this move looked like a band-aid mechanism.

Previewing the Shriners Children’s 500 at the Phoenix Raceway, the defending champion spoke about the option tires. This is an important discussion because they will be put to use during the race weekend. It’s not that NASCAR suddenly dropped this as a surprise to the drivers. They had plenty of advance notice, considering that the announcement came in January this year.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the option tires is that they wear off a lot faster than the usual tires. With their presence, the teams really have to work hard to design a winning strategy. These tires first made their debut in 2024 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, and the fall race in Richmond. Now it is indeed hard to guess how big of a role the softer Goodyear rubber will make during the race. But surprisingly, Joey Logano is appreciative of the efforts both NASCAR and Goodyear are trying with the tire experimentation.

Logano told Bob Pockrass, “I kind of like the option thing, I know it’s kind of hit or miss for competitors and maybe even fans, whether they like it or not. Some people see it as possibly gimmicky, but I don’t see it that way at all. I see it as, everyone has the same amount of tyres, how do you want to call the race? I do think it’s better for the sport, if this tire does work and they are able to implement it in more places. Keep doing this, and I think it’s great, it’s cool.”

All the teams are going to have just two sets of the option tires and six primary sets. So the onus is on the teams on how they want to cook up their strategies. We saw last year that Daniel Suarez was able to lead 93 laps last year at Richmond Raceway, securing a top 10 result. Fortunately, the teams might figure out a plan ahead of the qualifying runs with a scheduled practice session. Teams will have one primary set and one option tire set for the practice run.

Now, this will be the acid test for the Cup Series drivers. A 1-mile track is different from a short track like North Wilkesboro or Richmond. This offers Goodyear the perfect opportunity to see if these option tires make any difference to the race craft. It is actually a very tricky situation because critics might find it ‘gimmicky’ as Logano put it, and are waiting to see it fail.

Can Joey Logano hit the ground at Phoenix?

So far, Logano and Team Penske have been in excellent form in the past couple of races. At the Daytona 500 and Ambetter Health 400, the Penskes and other Fords dominated much of the races. Unfortunately, none of them were able to peak at the right time, so their end results don’t really tell the full story.

William Byron bagged a second consecutive Daytona 500, with the closest Penske in 7th. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell triumphed at Atlanta and at the Circuit of the Americas. Once again, Blaney was the best of the Penskes and Fords in 4th place at Atlanta. However at the Echopark Automotive Grand Prix, it was Chris Buescher who was the best Ford. Team Penske’s bragging rights went to Blaney again, but this time in the 19th.

With all that said, the defending champion will be hoping that the Shriners Children’s 500 marks the start of a turnaround. Currently, William Byron for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports, starts on the pole position. However, Logano is right alongside him on the front row, and he has some Ford allies, with Josh Berry in 4th. Ryan Blaney leads a Ford trio of himself, Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric in 12th, 13th and 14th. Needless to say, they all have their work cut out for them.