Goodyear Fast Facts — Martinsville

NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 35 – 500 laps / 263 miles

Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval) – Martinsville, Va.

Fast Facts for October 29-30, 2022

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Short Track Radials

Set limits: Cup: 1 set for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 9 sets for the race

     (8 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5176; Right-side — D-5178

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,249 mm (88.54 in.); Right-side — 2,278 mm (89.69 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 10 psi; Left Rear — 12 psi;

     Right Front — 22 psi; Right Rear — 22 psi

Storyline – Goodyear prepares cold-weather compounds for Martinsville’s concrete corners: Because the times of the year the NASCAR Cup Series runs at Martinsville Speedway – early April and late October in 2022 – the weather can be cool or even cold.  That complicates the process of laying rubber on the track’s concrete corners.  To respond to that, Goodyear tested at the Southern Virginia short track to come up with tread compounds that will accomplish that goal.  And while the temperatures at the on-track session in June were significantly warmer, Goodyear is confident that the compound changes to both the left- and right-side tires that came out of that test will rubber-in the track in all weather conditions.

     “Martinsville is such a unique track, not only with the relatively long straightaways and tight turns, but also with the concrete surface in the corners only,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing.  “After an especially cold spring race, where it became very difficult to lay rubber in the corners, we decided to test there to make another step in doing that no matter how cool the temperatures are.  We had a good test and the compounds worked extremely well, and we believe it’s a formulation that will work in all conditions.  Laying rubber in the corners is important at Martinsville because if gives drivers an option to move up to a second groove to look for grip and give them a better chance to pass cars.  That, of course, creates better racing.”

Notes – Compound changes for Cup cars at Martinsville: Having moved to an 18-inch bead diameter tire for 2022, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity Series at Martinsville this week . . . this is the first time Cup teams have run either of these two tire codes . . . compared to what these teams ran at Martinsville in April, this tire combination features compound changes to both sides of the car (see Storyline above) . . . this tire set-up came out of a Goodyear test at Martinsville in June . . . teams (drivers) participating were the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (Tyler Reddick), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Kyle Busch) and Team Penske Ford (Austin Cindric). . . this set-up was also confirmed at a NASCAR organizational test in August . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars will not run inner liners in any of their tires in 2022.

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GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES

NASCAR Xfinity Series – Race No. 32 – 250 laps / 131.5 miles

Martinsville Speedway (0.526-mile oval) – Martinsville, Va.

Fast Facts for October 28-29, 2022

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 15-inch Short Track Radials

Set limits: Xfinity: 6 sets for the event

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-6118; Right-side — D-6120

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,218 mm (87.32 in.); Right-side — 2,244 mm (88.35 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 10 psi; Left Rear — 10 psi;

     Right Front — 23 psi; Right Rear — 22 psi

Notes – Xfinity returns to Martinsville on same tire set-up: Being on 15-inch bead diameter tires, NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Cup Series at Martinsville this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires these teams ran at Martinsville in April . . . Martinsville is the only track at which these tires are run . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, Xfinity teams will not run liners in their tires at Martinsville.

Follow us on Twitter: @GoodyearRacing.