NASCAR confirms use of option tire at Richmond Raceway

NASCAR announced that the upcoming Cup Series event at Richmond Raceway will have two Goodyear tire choices available for teams. Goodyear will have a softer “option” tire with the benefit of a more short-term grip and a baseline “prime” tire” that provides more of a lasting ride. This comes after an audition during the All-Star Race last month.

“The All-Star Race is a great event obviously by itself, but it gives us the opportunity to learn,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told NASCAR.com. “This past year, it gave us the chance to try something with tires, and we’re working really hard in NASCAR as well as the folks at the R&D Center to improve the short-track package. So the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro gave us the opportunity to introduce the option tire, something we’d never done to my knowledge in the history of our sport, to have different compounds during an event.”

NEWS: NASCAR officials announce the upcoming race at @RichmondRaceway will have two Goodyear tire choices available to teams.

A softer "option" tire with the reward of more short-term grip and a baseline "prime" tire that provides a more lasting ride. pic.twitter.com/aZizsmrXC1

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 16, 2024

“As that event unfolded, throughout the weekend, we were still optimistic that we would see something there that would really move the needle on our short-track package. We didn’t get the results at Wilkesboro that we were hoping for, with a very similar opportunity that we had at Bristol where we did see results, and even at Iowa where we did as well. Any time we can put our teams in a position where they have to manage tires, we really see some great racing and we see an entertaining race, so that’s our goal going into Richmond.”

More on NASCAR’s tire plan for Richmond

The option tires will have red sidewall letting, and prime tires will have the traditional yellow labeling. Teams will be allotted six sets of prime tires, and two sets of option tires, including one prime set carried over from qualifying.

“Once we get through practice, that 45-minute session, we’ll have the ability to work with Goodyear as well as our teams to see the longevity of the option tire, what it looks like, as well as the prime tire,” Sawyer said. “So we’ll have the ability to make some adjustments once practice is over, but as we go into the weekend, we’ll start with the allotment that was recently decided on by working with Goodyear and ourselves and prior history there.”

The option tires will make its Cup Series regular-season debut at the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the race on the USA Network or the NBC Sports App.