New tire combination for Cup teams in Homestead finale

Cup series teams have seen the new tire combination that will be used this weekend but it has not been run at Homestead previously.

Compared to what was run at this track last season, both the left-side and right-side tire feature construction updates to align with what is run at other speedways, while this right-side also moves from a multi-zone tread tire to a single zone tire and will increase grip.

This is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that teams ran at Chicagoland and those in the Cup and Xfinity series ran at Darlington this season.

“Homestead is one of the highest tire wear tracks that we have on the NASCAR circuit,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “The compounds we will be running provide plenty of grip, but also offer the endurance needed on Homestead’s track surface.

“These high wear tracks put on some of our best races, and the past several years at Homestead have proven that.”

While the amount of fall-off during a run at Homestead is more than two seconds per lap, the rate of that fall-off may be different for everyone. That ultimately has a positive effect on the racing as it creates more passing throughout the field.  

That, combined with Homestead’s progressive banking and the pressure of championship weekend, should provide the ingredients for great racing in the series finale.

“Tire fall-off creates more ‘comers’ and ‘goers’ over the course of a long run, which means more passing and tire management being an important element of the race,” Stucker said. “It’s also a factor is how the teams’ pit crews come into play with 12 sets of tires for the race and four-tire stops all day.”