NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 4 – FanShield 500
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 4 – LS Tractor 200
ISM Raceway (1.0-mile oval) – Avondale, Ariz.
Fast Facts for March 6-8, 2020
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials
Set limits:
Cup: 3 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 9 sets for the race (8 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying or practice);
Xfinity: 5 sets for the event
Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-4964;
Right-side — D-4966
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,218 mm (87.32 in.);
Right-side — 2,244 mm (88.35 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 14 psi; Left Rear — 14 psi;
Right Front — 32 psi; Right Rear — 30 psi
Storyline – Cup Series looks ahead by looking back: For 2020, the NASCAR Cup cars will run an aerodynamic package on the short tracks that yields lower downforce than at the speedways, similar to what they ran across the board in 2018. This decision came out of an industry-wide effort, including a meeting of all parties at the Cup Series banquet in Nashville last fall. At that session, Goodyear was asked how they could contribute to the new-old package, and company officials responded by saying it could increase mechanical grip levels with the tires to counter-balance the reduction in aerodynamic grip. Another goal of the short track tire set-up will be more wear, which also can improve racing by bringing tire management into play and creating more passing opportunities throughout a fuel run. At Phoenix this week, there is more stagger built into the tire set-up – that is, the difference between the ‘shorter’ left-side tire and the ‘taller’ right-side tire. Based on feedback from many teams, the cars generally ran ‘tight’ at Phoenix, and more stagger will help them turn and offer a better balance for the cars. This combination of left- and right-side tires will also be run on the short track at Richmond in May.
“We were involved in the decision on the 2020 short track package,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “At that meeting with all the industry leaders, integrating tire performance into a reduced downforce package was a key part of the conversations. Our experience with the 2018 rules package, along with recent compound testing on the Next Gen vehicle at Phoenix, gave us a good baseline on increasing mechanical grip through the tires to compliment the reduced aero loading. This decision process was truly a joint effort – stakeholders from all areas coming together to make the sport better.”
Notes – Brand new tire set-up debuts at Phoenix: Teams in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up at Phoenix this week . . . this is the first time either of these two Goodyear tire codes will be run . . . compared to what Cup and Xfinity teams ran at Phoenix last November, both this left-side and right-side tire feature compound changes designed to add grip and wear more . . . the decision on these tread compounds came out of test with the Next Gen car at Phoenix in December . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run liners in their tires at Phoenix.
— Goodyear Racing —