2024 All-Star Race: A Look at the North Wilkesboro Race’s Tire Choices

Amidst all the scrutiny surrounding NASCAR’s heavily faltering short-track product, the All-Star Race marks its 40th anniversary by returning to North Wilkesboro’s 0.625-mile oval. But this year, the million-dollar experimental exhibition takes its efforts for future innovations one step further by introducing a potential fix to the burning issue with a much-debated, three-tire strategy option for the weekend.

Bidding to perfect the collective racing experience, Goodyear will aid NASCAR with a ‘prime,’ an ‘option,’ and a wet weather tire this year. However, the sanctioning body’s ‘rubber roulette’ aiming to impact future race strategies demands a clearer explanation of its expected performance differences.

North Wilkesboro’s Million-Dollar gamble with a twist, courtesy of Goodyear

NASCAR’s newly introduced tire-option strategy aims to amp up the excitement with varying rates of speculated fall-off on Sunday. Let’s take a closer look at the distinct characteristics of each tire type ready to make all the noise at North Wilkesboro’s rubber roulette this weekend. As per Zach Sturniolo of NASCAR.com:

• Prime Tires – This is the baseline, the familiar yellow-lettered Goodyear Eagle. Developed specifically after a track test last March for the repaved North Wilkesboro, it offers a balance between grip and wear, ideal for the ‘prime’ performance.
• Option Tires – Made from the same compound as the wet-weather tires but lacking the treads, the tire supplier’s ‘controversial’ red-lettered ‘slick’ promises increased opportunities for passing with significantly more grip. But this advantageous grip comes with a steep price – rapid tire wear, characterized by NASCAR’s high-risk, high-reward short-track formula similar to Bristol earlier this year.
• Wet-Weather Tire – The ‘wets’ remain on standby in case of rainfall in North Wilkesboro. Although unlikely to see action in the 2024 All-Star race, they will act as a crucial safety net in case of unpredictable weather. 

Each team has received nine sets of tires for the weekend with a realistic mix of variations. But here’s the twist: everyone will start the main event on the softer ‘option’ tires. Additionally, cars cannot mismatch primes with options during the whole race, forcing drivers to commit to unique strategies and manage their overall tire wear in due accordance.

This throws another potential curveball into the million-dollar festivities awaiting the main event in North Wilkesboro. But how are the brave drivers gearing up for the grand prize viewing these anticipated strategy calls?

Will it all pay off on Sunday?

One of the biggest advocates of the short-track parity debate, Denny Hamlin, sees an opportunity for aggressive racing. However, “a success would be lots of overtaking,” he explained in a recent episode of Actions Detrimental. The #11 also believes the option tire’s early grip advantage could lead to exciting battles for position before the inevitable wear kicks in, forcing prime tire pit stops later, and potentially creating a game of chance where whoever gets the best run under caution comes out on top.

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr concurred with Denny’s motion on the difference anticipated due to the option tires with a veteran’s caution in a recent statement given to Autoweek. “The softer one is significantly faster and falls off more, so we’ll have to be strategic in how we use it.”

But not everyone shares their optimism. Adding another layer of intrigue following his late-race disappointments in Darlington, Tyler Reddick stated his contrary experience with the option tire in the 50-minute practice session, leaving him wanting more. Denny Hamlin’s #45 driver for 23XI Racing stated in post-race interviews, “It took longer than I thought for it to really have the fall off, to really counterbalance it.”

Regardless, Goodyear’s test sessions ahead of the All-Star Race at the newly paved North Wilkesboro surface painted a generally positive picture, with representatives from all three manufacturers lauding the track’s brand-new character. But what will the forecasted results showcase on Sunday is truly anyone’s guess. With the reveal finally kicking off at 8 PM ET, many eyes await the possible deductions heading out of the All-Star weekend.