NASCAR’s Enforcement of Goodyear’s “Option” in the All-Star Race Leaves Racing Fans Confused

Back in 2017, Goodyear rolled out a cool new concept at the NASCAR All-Star Race, featuring two distinct tire compounds called “Prime” and “Option.” The twist at the annual non-points event sparked talk about using these different tires in the regular season too. The “Option” tire was the softer of the two, promising more grip and potentially shaving off up to half a second per lap. And how is it affecting races?

It looks like this strategy is making a comeback. Goodyear is at it again, releasing tires in ‘prime’ and ‘option’ varieties. According to recent tweets from Jeff Gluck and Bob Pockrass, both tire types will share the same build but will sport different treads at NASCAR All-Star Racing.

The NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro is set to spice things up 

It looks like Goodyear has taken a leaf out of Denny Hamlin‘s suggestions and borrowed a bit from F1’s playbook by partially introducing different tire compounds—soft, medium, and hard. They’re rolling out two specific types for the NASCAR All-Star event. The race format itself remains straightforward—two heat races to decide who starts where in the All-Star Race, a 100-lap NASCAR All-Star Open, and the main 200-lap showdown on the historic .625-mile track, with a cool $1 million going to the winner. But this time, they’re adding a twist with some tire strategy.

Over the weekend, drivers might end up using three distinct types of tires: the “prime tire,” which was the standard in last month’s Goodyear test, an “option tire,” that’s slick as the wet weather tire but made from the same rubber, and the “wet weather” tire, used only if the track gets slippery. To top it off, the ‘Goodyear Eagle’ lettering will pop in yellow on the prime tires, red on the option tires, and white on the wet weather tires.

For the upcoming races—practice, qualifying, the heat races, and the Open—teams will get three sets of prime tires and two sets of option tires. However, during both qualifying sessions, only the prime tires will be used. And while teams get nine sets of tires for the whole event, for the NASCAR All-Star Race itself, they’ll have two sets of both primes and options at their disposal. One key rule: all four tires on the car must be the same type at any given time, and every team will kick off the main event on the option tires.

The focus is really going to be on the crew chiefs and drivers as they navigate their tire strategy for this big race. In tests, the softer tires definitely gave a speed boost but wore out much quicker. It’s going to be intriguing to see how the teams tackle this new challenge.

Meanwhile, as Goodyear and NASCAR try to shake up the short-track racing scene, some fans are scratching their heads, wondering exactly what Goodyear is aiming to achieve with all these changes.

NASCAR fans have loads of questions about the new “Option” tire, stirring up the scene

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After reading posts by Jeff Gluck and Bob Pockrass about the fresh tire twist in next month’s NASCAR All-Star race, one fan wondered if we’re starting to mimic F1: “So we’re doing F1 in NASCAR, huh? Long runs with little to no passing. Team/manufacturer orders. Now, multiple tire compounds. Can we also make the races shorter and run on hybrid engines to eliminate fuel strategy?”

Another fan popped in to ask, “Will @GoodyearRacing be providing a fund to offset all the torn-up cars created by their “experiment?” One more puzzled fan questioned the effectiveness of the new strategy on a newly paved track: “But will it really get the results we are looking for with a newly paved track?” 

One racing buff needed some details cleared up: “Need some clarification here, will teams have a choice of which tire they switch to?”

While many fans were scratching their heads, a few had already formed opinions on what to expect from these new tire options. One enthusiast predicted, “If this does not absolutely kick-ass, NASCAR is *literally* out of excuses to add horsepower unless they want Cup series short-track racing to die.” Another fan loved the strategic potential, saying, “I would love the idea of essentially a super soft that has great speed, but also great falloff if it meant teams could take different strategies (especially if you limit sets) Imagine a lay caution and someone a little further back had a set left.”

So, what’s your take on this new tactic by NASCAR All-Star Racing and Goodyear to rejuvenate short-track racing? Think it’ll pan out?