Goodyear Fast Facts — Dover

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In: NASCAR Cup Series News

NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 11 – 400 laps / 400 miles

Dover Motor Speedway (1.0-mile oval) – Dover, Del.

Fast Facts for April 30-May 1, 2022

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 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-5160; Right-side — D-5162

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,254 mm (88.74 in.); Right-side — 2,280 mm (89.76 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear — 22 psi;

     Right Front — 48 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi

Storyline – Tire pressures and track surface important on Dover’s concrete high banks: With the high horsepower/low downforce package of the NASCAR Next Gen Cup car, speeds and loads at Dover Motor Speedway will be high.  Two corners of the car are of particular interest – the right-front and the left-rear.  The right-front takes a tremendous amount of load entering the high-banked corners at Dover, while the balance of the Next Gen car results in a high concentration of load on the left-rear wheel position of the car, particularly on acceleration from the center off the corners.  Observing Goodyear’s recommended air pressures will be important.  The other and most obvious factor for teams and tires will be the amount of rubber on the track as the race goes on.  Rubbering-in the concrete surface is always the goal for Goodyear, which has developed its tread compounds to do just that.  The interesting phenomenon comes when the race goes under the yellow flag and the field of cars are not at speed and generating heat.  As the cars run the caution car speed, the track begins to cool and the still hot tires begin to pick up the rubber that has been laid down.  That is why during the race you will see the track start out looking white from the fresh concrete, turn black as the cars lay rubber and then turn back white again under caution.

     “Dover obviously presents many challenges for Goodyear as it relates to NASCAR Cup racing,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing.  “First, and most important for the teams, are the stresses put on the tires because of the high banking and relatively tight turn radii.  The right-front sees a lot of load entering the corners as the car gets into the banking and tries to get to the center and back on the throttle.  With this Next Gen car, we have definitely seen a higher concentration of loading on that position.  Observing our minimum recommended pressures is vitally important at Dover.  Second, and this is something the fans will notice, is how the track changes color during the course of the race.  At speed, the track will progressively turn black as the cars lay rubber on the concrete surface and then turn back white under the caution flag as the tires pick back much of that rubber.  Keeping pace with that transition is an important element of the race strategy.”

Notes – New right-side compound for Cup cars at Dover: 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 Dover this weekend . . . this is the first time Cup teams have run either of these two Goodyear tire codes . . . these teams will run this same tire set-up at Nashville in June, as well as running this left-side with a different right-side at both Kansas and Texas . . . in addition to the obvious construction changes in moving to an 18-inch tire, this set-up features a change to the right-side compound (more grip) compared to what Cup teams ran at Dover in 2021 . . . 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.

Follow us on Twitter: @GoodyearRacing.

 

GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES

NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 10 – 200 laps / 200 miles

Dover Motor Speedway (1.0-mile oval) – Dover, Del.

Fast Facts for April 29-30, 2022

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials

Set limits: Xfinity: 5 sets for the race

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-6106; Right-side — D-6128

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,225 mm (87.60 in.); Right-side — 2,250 mm (88.58 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 18 psi; Left Rear — 18 psi;

     Right Front — 49 psi; Right Rear — 45 psi

Notes – Xfinity teams on Fontana left-side at Dover: Being on 15-inch bead diameter tires, Xfinity teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Cup Series at Dover this weekend . . . these teams have run this left-side tire code at Fontana earlier this season . . . they will also run this left-side at Darlington next week and this right-side at Nashville in June . . . compared to what these teams ran at Dover last season, this right-side tire features a minor compound change . . . Dover is unique among NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, in that inner liners are required on all four tire positions . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

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