NASCAR makes its annual trip to Darlington Raceway this weekend and it will do so with tires that have never been raced on the track’s surface.
Cup and Xfinity teams will bring the kind of tires that were used earlier this year at Chicagoland Speedway. Compared to what these teams ran at this track last year, both tires feature the same tread compounds with a construction update to align with what is run at other speedways.
As on all NASCAR ovals greater than 1 mile in length, 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.
A season-high 14 sets of tires are available to Cup teams on race day, meaning they will have to go an average of just more than 26 laps per set to complete the race.
As part of the Throwback Weekend and its 1990-94 theme, all tires will have the Goodyear logos that were present on race tires in the mid-90s beginning in 1992, with yellow “Goodyear #1” and “Eagle” logos.
Set limits: Cup: Three sets for practice, one set for qualifying and 14 sets for the race (13 race sets plus one set transferred from qualifying or practice);
Xfinity: Seven sets for the event
Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4928; Right-side -- D-4930
Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 2,227 mm (87.68 in.); Right-side -- 2,248 mm (88.50 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front -- 19 psi; Left Rear – 19 psi; Right Front -- 52 psi; Right Rear -- 48 psi