Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 23 – Consumers Energy 400
Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile oval) – Brooklyn, Mich.
Fast Facts for August 10-12, 2018
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Set limits:
Cup: 3 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 7 sets for the race
Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-4770;
Right-side — D-4796
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,227 mm (87.68 in.);
Right-side — 2,251 mm (88.62 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 22 psi; Left Rear – 22 psi;
Right Front — 54 psi; Right Rear — 50 psi
Storyline – Grip = Speed = Heat: After being repaved in 2012, the track surface at Michigan International Speedway has retained a lot of grip. That, as well as the track length and configuration, leads to top speeds reaching 212 miles per hour. Running those speeds generates a lot of heat in the tires, which is a main factor of which Goodyear has to be aware. Because of that, and in an effort to keep up with the track, Goodyear held a test at MIS in April to prepare for the 2018 season. What came out of that test were tread compounds on both the left- and right-side of the car that are designed to wear more and dissipate more heat. Higher tire wear and cooler operating temperatures lead to better racing.
“Michigan still has a lot of grip in the track surface, and as a result we see very high speeds there,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Simply stated, grip leads to higher speeds and that leads to more heat being built up in the tires. What we came up with at our test this spring, and what we saw in the race in June, was that our ‘new’ tire set-up wore a bit more, which is really good for two reasons – more tire fall-off leads to tire management coming into play into race strategy and tire wear is the primary way to help tires lose heat and operate more optimally.”
Notes – Cup cars return to Michigan on June tire set-up: Teams in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will run a completely different tire set-up than those in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Michigan this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Cup teams ran at this track in June . . . this tire set-up came out of a Goodyear test at Michigan in April, before the spring race at the track . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Michigan . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
Upcoming tire test – Goodyear to test Texas: Goodyear will hold a tire test at Texas Motor Speedway next Tuesday and Wednesday (August 14-15) . . . drivers scheduled to participate in this test are Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Race No. 15 – Corrigan Oil 200
Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile oval) – Brooklyn, Mich.
Fast Facts for August 10-11, 2018
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Set limits: Camping World Truck: 4 sets for the event
Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-4784;
Right-side — D-4776
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,227 mm (87.68 in.);
Right-side — 2,253 mm (88.70 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 24 psi; Left Rear – 22 psi;
Right Front — 54 psi; Right Rear — 50 psi
Notes – Trucks’ tire set-up changes at Michigan: Teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will run a completely different tire set-up than those in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Michigan this weekend . . . for the Trucks, this left-side tire code was run earlier this season at Kansas . . . compared to what was run at Michigan in 2017, this left-side features a construction update to align with what is run at other speedways . . . similar to what was run at Michigan last year, this week’s right-side tire code is a multi-zone tread tire that features one compound on the inboard two inches of the tread for heat resistance (Endurance Zone) and one on the outboard 10 inches of the tread for grip (Traction Zone) . . . the change from last year is a construction update . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Michigan . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
NASCAR Xfinity Series – Race No. 21 – Rock ‘n’ Roll 170
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2.258-mile road course) – Lexington, Ohio
Fast Facts for August 10-11, 2018
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Road Course Radials
Set limits: 6 sets for the event
Tire Code: D-4590 (same on all four tire positions)
Tire Circumference: 88.66 in. (2,252 mm)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 22 psi; Right Front — 20 psi;
Left Rear — 17 psi; Right Rear — 17 psi
Notes – Xfinity Series back at Mid-Ohio for fourth race on this tire:NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will run the same tire code on all four corners of the car at Mid-Ohio . . . this is the same tire Xfinity teams have run at this course for the last three seasons . . . they are also scheduled to run this tire code again at Road America in two weeks . . . as on all NASCAR road courses, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Mid-Ohio.
Wet Weather Tires – White-lettered tires on hand: Goodyear will bring its wet weather radials for use at Mid-Ohio, should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant . . . teams are allowed up to four sets of “wets” for the event . . . this tire was last run by NASCAR Xfinity Series teams at Watkins Glen last weekend . . . they were also run at Mid-Ohio as recently as 2016 . . . one change from last year, the “Goodyear” and “Eagle” lettering on the sidewalls of the wet weather tires is white, not the standard yellow.
— Goodyear Racing —