NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 5 — 312 laps / 312 miles
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 5 — 200 laps / 200 miles
Phoenix Raceway (1.0-mile oval) — Avondale, Ariz.
Fast Facts for March 13-14, 2021
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials
Set limits: Cup: 9 sets for the race;
Xfinity: 4 sets for the event
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-4964; Right-side — D-4966
Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,218 mm (87.32 in.); Right-side — 2,244 mm (88.35 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 14 psi; Left Rear — 14 psi;
Right Front — 32 psi; Right Rear — 30 psi
Storyline — Mechanical grip in tire set-up helps counter-balance NASCAR‘s lower downforce package: Beginning in 2020, NASCAR adjusted the package Cup teams run on short tracks to lower downforce and higher horsepower than what is run on bigger speedways. To counter-balance the loss of aerodynamic grip cars get with that lower downforce, Goodyear responded with an adjustment to the tread compounds it runs at Phoenix Raceway to add back some mechanical grip. That adjustment was also made to introduce more tire wear, which impacts racing by bringing tire management into play for the drivers and more passing throughout a run.
“I think the changes we made to our set-up had a positive effect on the racing at Phoenix,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear‘s director of racing. “Adding mechanical grip through our tread compounds matched up well with the short track package, not only to make up for the loss in aerodynamic grip, but also to give drivers an opportunity to take advantage of the increased horsepower when getting back on the throttle. We saw some great racing in both races at Phoenix last season, which only enhanced its place on the NASCAR schedule as the site of championship weekend.”
Notes — Cup, Xfinity return to Phoenix on fall ‘20 tire set-up: Teams in both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will run the same tire set-up at Phoenix this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires these teams ran at this track twice last season . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run liners in their tires at Phoenix.
