Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series -- Race No. 10 - Geico 500
NASCAR Xfinity Series - Race No. 9 - Sparks Energy 300
Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval) - Talladega, Ala.
Fast Facts for April 27-29, 2018
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway Radials
Set limits:
Cup: 2 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 6 sets for the race;
Xfinity: 4 sets for the event
Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4596;
Right-side -- D-4752
Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 2,233 mm (87.91 in.);
Right-side -- 2,247 mm (88.46 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 27 psi; Left Rear - 27 psi;
Right Front -- 50 psi; Right Rear -- 48 psi
Storyline - Pit, tire strategy in play at Talladega: Since its repave in 2010, the Goodyear tire set-up for Talladega Superspeedway has split off from that of NASCAR's other restrictor plate track at Daytona. Talladega exhibits some wear characteristics, though teams are still able to employ some tire strategy - two-tire and fuel-only stops - enabling chances to trade fresh rubber for track position. Because it is possible to pit at Talladega and not lose a lap to the leaders, that opens up some strategy plays for teams outside the top-10 to pit before the end of a stage and gain track position on the back end.
"The amount of tire wear at Talladega has increased a good bit since the track was repaved back in 2010, and we especially see that on the inboard of the right-front where teams run a significant amount of camber" said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "That led us to bring a more wear-resistant right-side tread compound starting in 2014. Having said that, we still see a lot of tire strategy come into play at Talladega, with teams still having the ability to take two tires or even fuel only depending on the situation."
Notes - New right-side tire debuts at Talladega: Teams in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up at Talladega this weekend . . . this left-side tire code has been run at Talladega since October 2014 (with Xfinity teams running it for the first time in May 2015) . . . this is the first time these teams have run this right-side tire code . . . compared to what was run at Talladega last year, this right-side features a minor construction update . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Talladega . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
Upcoming tire test - Goodyear to complete rain-delayed test on Charlotte road course: Goodyear originally tested the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway on March 20-21, but wet weather kept the cars off track for much of the session . . . Goodyear will return next Tuesday (May 1) to complete the test . . . teams scheduled to participate are Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle Larson), Joe Gibbs Racing (TBD), Roush Fenway Racing (Trevor Bayne) and Wood Brothers Racing (Paul Menard).