NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 4 – 312 laps / 312 miles
Phoenix Raceway (1.0-mile oval) – Avondale, Ariz.
Fast Facts for March 12-13, 2022
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits: Cup: 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 9 sets for the race (8 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5124; Right-side — D-5126
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,251 mm (88.62 in.); Right-side — 2,276 mm (89.61 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 14 psi; Left Rear — 14 psi; Right Front — 30 psi; Right Rear — 26 psi
Storyline – Cup teams a step ahead at Phoenix: While a lot has changed for NASCAR Cup Series teams since its last appearance at Phoenix Raceway just four short months ago – new season, new car, new 18-inch bead diameter tire — the one thing that will give teams some comfort is that they were able to get on the Avondale, Ariz.-based track with the current rules package at a NASCAR organizational test in January. That should help teams be up to speed quicker for this, the first mile-track race of the 2022 season. This is an important race weekend for Cup teams, in that it serves as a preview what to expect on the 2023 championship weekend in November, as well as for races at Richmond Raceway and Worldwide Technology Raceway coming up on the schedule.
“Teams having a chance to get on Phoenix before this weekend is a huge advantage as we move up the learning curve with this Next Gen car and 18-inch tire,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Overall as a sport, we had 30 tests in preparation for this season, and the Phoenix test was very important in that development. Not only is this the track where we crown our champion later in the season, it also falls into a group of tracks that we will race on several times leading up to that weekend.”
Notes – More tractive tread compounds scheduled for Cup cars at Phoenix: Having moved to an 18-inch bead diameter tire for 2022, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity Series at Phoenix this week . . . in addition to the obvious construction changes vs. what Cup teams ran at this track last season, these two tire codes feature compound changes to give the cars more grip . . . this is the first time Cup teams have run either of these two tire codes in competition . . . they are currently scheduled to run this same tire set-up at Richmond in April and Gateway in June . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars will not run inner liners in any of their tires in 2022.
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 4 – 200 laps / 200 miles
Phoenix Raceway (1.0-mile oval) – Avondale, Ariz.
Fast Facts for March 12, 2022
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 15-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits: Xfinity: 5 sets for the event
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-6114; Right-side — D-6116
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 — 28 psi; Right Rear — 26 psi
Notes – New Xfinity tire codes debut at Phoenix: Being on 15-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Cup Series at Phoenix this week . . . while this is the first time Xfinity teams have run either of these two tire codes, these teams are scheduled to run this same combination of left- and right-side tires at both Richmond and Gateway later this season . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, Xfinity teams will not run liners in their tires at Phoenix.
— Goodyear Racing —