NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 31 – 188 laps / 500 miles
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 28 – 113 laps / 300.6 miles
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Race No. 20 – 94 laps / 250 miles
Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval) – Talladega, Ala.
Fast Facts for October 2-3, 2021
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway Radials
Set limits: Cup: 7 sets for the race; Xfinity: 4 sets for the race; Truck: 4 sets for the race
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-4886; Right-side — D-4952
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,236 mm (88.03 in.); Right-side — 2,251 mm (88.62 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 26 psi; Left Rear – 26 psi;
Right Front — 50 psi; Right Rear — 48 psi
Storyline – Expect tire strategy at Talladega: We will see some tire wear at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, but teams will still be able to employ some tire strategy with some two-tire and fuel-only pit stops. Another factor is that with Talladega being the longest oval on the NASCAR circuit, it is possible to pit and not lose a lap to the race leaders. Teams outside the top-10 of the running order and not in position to earn stage points could “short-pit” and gain track position when the rest of the field pits at the end of a stage.
“Since its repave in 2010, Talladega’s track surface has aged a bit and will wear tires somewhat this weekend,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Having said that, teams will still have the opportunity to mix in two-tire and no-tire stops in their pit strategy throughout the race. Being able to do that will help teams gain track position and potentially help them line up with teammates so they can work together in the draft.”
Notes – Teams return to Talladega on established tire set-up: Teams in all three NASCAR national series will run the same tire set-up at Talladega this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that Cup and Xfinity teams ran at this track in April . . . Cup teams began running this tire set-up at Talladega in October 2019 . . . Xfinity and Truck teams began running this set-up at Talladega last season (June and October for Xfinity, and October only for Truck) . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Talladega . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
— Goodyear Racing —