NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 27 — 367 laps / 501 miles
NASCAR Xfinity Series — Race No. 24 — 147 laps / 201 miles
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series — Race No. 17 — 147 laps / 201 miles
Darlington Raceway (1.366-mile oval) — Darlington, S.C.
Fast Facts for September 4-5, 2021
Tire:
Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Set limits:
Cup — 13 sets for the race;
Xfinity: 5 sets for the race;
Truck: 5 sets for the race
Tire Codes:
Left-side — D-4928;
Right-side — D-4930
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 2,225 mm (87.60 in.);
Right-side — 2,248 mm (88.50 in.)
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 18 psi;
Left Rear — 18 psi;
Right Front — 48 psi;
Right Rear — 44 psi
Storyline — NASCAR Cup teams open playoffs with tough test at the “Track Too Tough To Tame”: The NASCAR Cup Series opens its 2021 playoffs with the crowned jewel Southern 500 at the historic Darlington Raceway. Racing 501 miles (367 laps) on an abrasive track surface like the one at Darlington is a tough chore for drivers and pit crews. Drivers that are good at managing their tires — being smoother and easier on them early in a run — will gain spots on the track later in a run over those that charged harder out of the gate. Teams will take four tires at every opportunity throughout the race, even after only a handful of green flag laps. With 13 sets of tires available to each teams, the pit crews will be busy and play a major role in gaining or losing track position with every stop.
“The sport is ready for a return visit to Darlington this weekend, and there is a lot to be excited about,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear‘s director of racing. “Darlington has so much history and is so important to our sport. It has been a staple on the Cup schedule since the 1950s, and has provided a serious challenge to drivers over the generations. The abrasive track surface puts the onus on drivers to manage their tires and team members to keep up with the track and perform fast and consistent pit stops throughout a long race.”
Notes — NASCAR teams return to Darlington on same tire set-up as May: Teams in all three NASCAR series will run the same tire set-up at Darlington this weekend . . . this is the same combination of tires that Cup and Xfinity teams began running at this track in 2019, and Truck Series teams joined in with in 2020 . . . teams in all three series have also run this tire set-up at Homestead over the past three seasons . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one 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.
Goodyear Tire Test — Testing Next Gen car at Daytona next week: Eight NASCAR Cup Series teams will test team-prepared Next Gen cars at Daytona International Speedway next Tuesday and Wednesday (September 7-8) . . . the 2022 cars in the Cup Series only will race on Goodyear tires on 18-inch wheels, as compared to the 15-inch wheels they currently race on (Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series teams will remain on 15-inch) . . . teams (drivers) participating in this Goodyear tire test will be the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (Austin Dillon), No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Denny Hamlin), No. 17 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford (Chris Buescher), No. 22 Penske Racing Ford (Joey Logano), No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (William Byron), No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (Cole Custer), No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet (Ross Chastain) and No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Toyota (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.).
— Goodyear Racing —
