After years of getting battered for the Next Gen car’s faults, NASCAR is on a war footing. Until March 18th, 2024, fans and drivers clamored for increased horsepower as the car’s increased parity brought in a drab element to races. However, the Bristol race introduced an exciting aspect – tires wore off faster, challenging the strongest drivers and thrilling fans. So NASCAR grabbed this chance to get in the fans’ books.

The sanctioning body and Goodyear put their heads together and took baby steps. The All-Star Race, a non-points event, proved a testing ground for option tires. Now the tire brand is gearing up for a grand showdown at Richmond Raceway, as their tire experiment will truly test the mettle of drivers at a points-paying race.

NASCAR’s tire plan is in full swing

At various points in NASCAR’s history, racers could choose between different tire manufacturers – Goodyear, Firestone, or Hoosier. But now, the narrative has taken a different angle. Only Goodyear would provide three different tire choices to drivers – prime tires with less grip and harder rubber, wet weather tires in case of rain, and the coveted option tires with more grip and softer rubber. Teams would be given eight sets of tires in total for the Federated Auto Parts 400 race this weekend.

And Goodyear’s NASCAR project manager, Mark Keto, is here to hype things up. Appearing for an episode of The Racing Writer’s Podcast hosted by Kelly Crandall, Keto explained that preparations are hot for the upcoming race. “Yeah, for the most part, we try to have our tires manufactured 30 days in advance for the race events…so that if there are manufacturing issues or hiccups, we can get those resolved. There’s still not any issues getting ready for the race.”

Goodyear is also availing the invaluable help of NASCAR drivers, who have actual racetrack experience. Hence, Keto drew some bright expectations for the tire experiment at Richmond. “Right now, what we’re doing for the Richmond race…we get a lot of team simulation, data, and kind of information on setups they’re trying to run…We’ll run lab testing on tires to the conditions that the teams are planning on running.” Keto added another purpose – to prime the drivers about what to expect in the race. “So we try to give the guys an idea of where we think the operative condition is. So that’s kind of the stuff we do a couple of weeks prior to the race.”

Some brilliant drivers are gearing up for fierce competition in Virginia. Chris Buescher, the defending race winner, has a solid chance and a solid motivation to win at Richmond. He hangs in the balance among the rear playoff drivers without a win. Close behind him is Ross Chastain, also looking to carve his way into the playoffs at Richmond. Denny Hamlin would hope to sweep both races at Richmond as his teammate Martin Truex Jr did in 2019. And two-time Richmond winner Kyle Larson carries tons of momentum as the points leader.

Drivers are even more hyped up to try out Goodyear’s tire test at Richmond, although a veteran is doubtful.

Goodyear’s trial elicits excitement

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Considering the thrill that surrounded the tire management race at Bristol, it was natural that NASCAR would make some headway here. But the sanctioning body’s first experiment in North Wilkesboro failed, as tires did not wear much at the All-Star Race. So Dale Earnhardt Jr scratched his head in doubt when the Richmond plan was first announced. Denny Hamlin was all in for it, but he also stipulated a few conditions for the tire plan to be successful.

However, two of Hamlin’s Cup rivals are pumped up to burn some rubber at Richmond. Daniel Suarez oozed his excitement: “I’m a big fan of this.” He added his fearless approach, “It’s a little risky. Big risks you always get big rewards.” Defending Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney also applauded NASCAR for trying to improve short tracks. “We always talk about tires and they’re not easy to change, but it’s the easiest thing to change as opposed to bits and pieces on the car. We tried everything that we’re going to get on the car, so the tire thing is the next option and I think it’s a good direction.”

Evidently, the Richmond experiment has drawn a mixed bag of responses. The actual results will only be visible on race day, 11th August, at 6 PM.