NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 13 – 293 laps / 400 miles
Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval) – Darlington, S.C.
Fast Facts for May 11-12, 2024
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits: Cup: 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 11 sets for the race
(10 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5184; Right-side — D-5222
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,263 mm (89.09 in.); Right-side — 2,277 mm (89.65 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear – 22 psi;
Right Front — 48 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi
Storyline – Darlington’s abrasive track surface leads to high tire wear and a busy pit road: Darlington Raceway is known for its worn and abrasive track surface and that means tire wear and lap-time fall-off will be significant, and pit crews will be kept busy with four-tire stops all day. Tires will wear from the first laps of green flag racing and will fall off close to three seconds per lap over the course of a run. Because of that, teams will take four tires on every pit stop and will likely short pit their fuel windows just to take fresh rubber. Four-tire stops obviously bring the team element of the sport more into play as pit crew play an important role in getting teams back onto the track. NASCAR Cup teams will have 11 sets of tires for the 293-lap race, which translates to just under 27 laps per set. Tire management will be important for drivers, and those that can be smoother on their tires early in a run will be rewarded later. That will lead to more passing throughout the field and a more entertaining race for the fans.
“The Goodyear 400 at Darlington obviously marks a big weekend for our company and is always one of the best races of the Cup season,” said Greg Stucker Goodyear’s director of racing. “As far as the racing goes, Darlington has maybe the most abrasive track surface on the NASCAR circuit, which means tires will wear and lap times will fall off very quickly. Tire management will lead to more ‘comers’ and ‘goers’ amongst the drivers, with an emphasis on being faster later in a run. The pit crews will also play a big part in the race with four-tire pit stops at every opportunity.”
Notes – Right-side tire change for Cup teams at Darlington: Being on 18-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series at Darlington this week . . . this is the same left-side tire these teams ran at Darlington twice in 2023 . . . Cup teams are on a different right-side tire (construction update) than what they ran at Darlington last season . . . this right-side is the most popular in the 2024 Goodyear tire lineup being run at six different tracks, including at Kansas last week . . . Cup teams will run this same tire set-up on the Charlotte oval in two weeks . . . for this weekend, the “Goodyear” and “Eagle” lettering on the tires will be white instead of the standard yellow . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars do not run inner liners in any of their tires.
Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway — Goodyear back for fourth year as Cup race entitlement sponsor: Goodyear returns for the fourth straight year as entitlement sponsor of the spring throwback race at Darlington Raceway – the Goodyear 400 . . . Goodyear is the longest-running continuous partner in NASCAR history and has been the exclusive tire supplier to the sanctioning body’s top three national divisions since 1997 . . . Goodyear has a rich history at Darlington, conducting its first official NASCAR tire tests at the track in 1954 and earning its first NASCAR victory in the 1959 Southern 500 with driver Jim Reed.
Goodyear Blimp – Florida-based airship over Darlington all weekend: “Wingfoot Two” will be in the air over Darlington Raceway for the entire weekend . . . this airship is based out of Pompano Beach, Fla. . . . Wingfoot Two will provide aerial coverage of all three of NASCAR’s national series races at Darlington for Fox Sports.
Follow us on Twitter: @GoodyearRacing.
GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 11 — 147 laps / 201 miles
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — Race No. 9 — 147 laps / 201 miles
Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval) – Darlington, S.C.
Fast Facts for May 10-11, 2024
Tire: Goodyear Eagle 15-inch Speedway Radials
Set limits: Xfinity: 6 sets for the event;
Craftsman Truck: 6 sets for the event
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-6106; Right-side — D-6130
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 — 48 psi; Right Rear — 44 psi
Notes – Third season on this tire set-up for Xfinity and Truck teams at Darlington: Being on 15-inch bead diameter tires, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Cup Series this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that these teams have run at Darlington since 2022 . . . while this exact tire set-up is only scheduled to be run at Darlington in 2024, this left-side tire is also run by these teams at Bristol (both series) and Dover (Trucks only), while this right-side tire is run on the Charlotte oval (both series). . . for this weekend, the “Goodyear” and “Eagle” lettering on the tires will be white instead of the standard yellow . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, Xfinity and Truck teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Darlington . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
Follow us on Twitter: @GoodyearRacing.
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