The NASCAR season has not officially started, but changes are en route. The exhibition Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox) will feature a new tire as teams race with increased horsepower for the first time.
Videos by FanBuzz
Goodyear Racing sent out a release to media members on Tuesday and announced that a new tire will be on Cup Series cars this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium. The left-side tire is a new compound designed to have more falloff than its predecessor.
The right-side tire compound is familiar to the drivers and teams. They used this compound in seven events last season, including the Clash.
One goal for the tire compound change is to improve short track racing while making drivers manage their equipment more. These efforts have paid off at other tracks on the schedule, so now a pivotal test will take place with more powerful cars.
NASCAR previously announced that all ovals under 1.5 miles and all road courses will have 750 horsepower. The drivers previously tested this updated package during an offseason test at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
"We have introduced a new left-side Goodyear Racing Eagle tire for the Clash this weekend," said Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear's Director of Racing for the Americas. "This is in line with our ongoing efforts to deliver tires that offer increased grip and more lap time fall-off over the course of a run.
"Teams will be focused on racing and battling for track position, but we'll use Bowman Gray as an opportunity to gather data and apply that knowledge to our short track tire package for the rest of the season."
Continuing to dial in the short track tire will be important for both Goodyear and the Cup Series teams. It will help make the racing better than in the past Gen 7 seasons, and it will move closer toward an outcome drivers desire.
As multiple said during championship weekend at Phoenix Raceway, they don't want to keep mixing up the compound. They want to find the right tire for type of track and then move forward so that they can know what to expect each time.
"Goodyear's done an amazing job this year of digging in deep and finding softer tires and more fall-off," Michael McDowell told FanBuzz at Phoenix Raceway. "And I think they've done an incredible job. That's what we wanted. And there's still work to do, but I feel like we are way further ahead today than we have been in the past when we've had different conversations.
"So I think that the collaboration between NASCAR and the drivers and Goodyear has been incredible. I hope that once we get closer to where everybody's like, 'Hey, this is it, and this is really the level we need,' that the tires will become a little bit more common. Because if you come to Phoenix every year and it's a different tire, it's hard to build what you need in a setup and feel."
