Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 9 – Toyota Owners 400
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 8 – ToyotaCare 250
Richmond Raceway (0.75-mile oval) – Richmond, Va.
Fast Facts for April 20-21, 2018
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials
Set limits:
Cup: 3 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 9 sets for the race;
Xfinity: 6 sets for the event
Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-4674;
Right-side — D-4676
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,215 mm (87.20 in.);
Right-side — 2,242 mm (88.27 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 12 psi; Left Rear — 12 psi;
Right Front — 30 psi; Right Rear — 27 psi
Storyline – Richmond: NASCAR’s high wear short track: Richmond Raceway has traditionally lined up with a couple other tracks of similar length – New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway — but its “racy” configuration requires more stagger (difference in height between the shorter left-side tires and the taller right-side tires) be built into the tire set-up. It is also a high tire wear track, so Goodyear puts a premium on selecting tread compounds that rubber-in the track surface to address that and create multiple racing grooves.
“The track surface at Richmond, with its high wear characteristics, places a priority on coming up with a tire set-up that includes tread compounds that lay down rubber,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “With the tire recommendation we’ve brought to Richmond the last several seasons, we’ve been able to do that. That, in turn, opens up multiple racing grooves and creates an opportunity for more side-by-side racing. Teams that stay in front of the changing track conditions can take advantage of the fastest line.”
Notes – Goodyear returns to Richmond on tried-and-true tire set-up: Teams in both the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Richmond this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires these teams have run at Richmond since April 2016. . . this is the only track at which teams in these two series will run these either of these two tire codes . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run liners in their tires at Richmond.
Upcoming Tire Test – Goodyear to visit Michigan next week: Goodyear will hold a tire test at Michigan International Speedway next Tuesday and Wednesday (April 24-25) . . . teams (drivers) scheduled to participate are Furniture Row Racing (Martin Truex Jr.), Hendrick Motorsports (Alex Bowman), Penske Racing (Brad Keselowski), Richard Childress Racing (Austin Dillon) and Stewart Haas Racing (Aric Almirola).
— Goodyear Racing —