Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series – Race No. 29 – Bank of America 400
NASCAR Xfinity Series – Race No. 28 – Drive for the Cure 250
Charlotte Motor Speedway (2.28-mile roval) – Concord, N.C.
Fast Facts for September 27-29, 2019
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Set limits:
Cup: 3 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 8 sets for the race (7 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying or practice);
Xfinity: 6 sets for the event
Tire Codes (same on all four tire positions): D-4940
Tire Circumference: 2,240 mm (88.19 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 26 psi; Right Front — 28 psi;
Left Rear — 20 psi; Right Rear — 20 psi
Storyline – Roval requires road course tire with a twist: Goodyear will bring a traditional road course tire to the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, though there is a distinct difference in the air pressure recommendations compared to what is run at Watkins Glen International and Sonoma Raceway. Those latter two courses are run primarily in a clockwise direction, with a majority of right-hand turns. The Roval is run counter-clockwise – including utilizing the majority of the speedway’s oval – making it primarily a left-hand course. The air pressures reflect that difference, with the right-front tire having a recommendation of two psi greater than the left-front (28 psi vs. 26 psi), because that is the corner of the car that sees the most load most of the time around the 2.28-mile course. Also of note, when comparing to an oval tire set-up where the right-side pressures are greater than the left-side pressures, on road courses it is fronts vs. rears. Generally speaking, the front tire pressures on road courses are greater to handle the loads under heavy braking, while the rear pressures are lower to help with grip as cars accelerate off the corners.
“While the course has gone through several changes since it was first laid out in late 2017, the fact remains that we treat the Roval as a road course from a tire perspective,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “The Roval is definitely unique in the NASCAR world, and requires us to be aware of many factors. Similar to other road courses, we have to bring a tire and recommend air pressures that reflect the hard braking and acceleration on and off the corners. The main difference is the use of the oval as part of the course, where loads on the right-front will be higher than any other corner of the car.”
Notes – New Goodyear tire code debuts at Roval: Like on all other NASCAR road courses on the three national series schedules, Cup and Xfinity teams will run the same Goodyear tire code on all four tire positions at Charlotte . . . Cup and Xfinity teams will run the same tire this weekend . . . this is the first time this tire has been raced in NASCAR competition . . . compared to what was run at Charlotte’s road course last year, this tire features a construction update . . . as on other NASCAR road courses, teams will not run inner liners in their tires.
Wet Weather Tires – White-lettered tires on hand: Goodyear will bring its wet weather radials for use at Charlotte, should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant . . . Cup teams are allowed up to two sets of “wets” for practice and qualifying and up to four sets for the race . . . Xfinity teams are allowed up to two sets of “wets” for practice and up to two sets for their race . . . this tire was last run in NASCAR competition by Xfinity teams at both Watkins Glen (practice and race) and Road America (practice) last season . . . the “Goodyear” and “Eagle” lettering on the sidewalls of the wet weather tires is white, not the standard Goodyear yellow.
— Goodyear Racing —