By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
Preparations have been well underway for this weekend’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series double-header at Texas Motor Speedway.
Over the past two weeks, Speedway Motorsports Incorporated, parent company of Texas, have been running the Texas Tire Monster and Kentucky Tire Dragon on the bottom groove of the racing surface. This has become a common practice for SMI since the 2016 repave of Kentucky Speedway.
The @TXMotorSpeedway crew has been working hard prepping the track for next week's @NASCAR races. Both the Texas Tire Monster & Tire Dragon have been working in the 2nd groove up, working in rubber. Look at the dark black asphalt! Won't stop till race time. Will get even better! pic.twitter.com/nqKVE7coEQ
— Eddie Gossage ™️ (@eddiegossage) March 30, 2018
Because some of you can't wait for the Texas Tire Monster and the Tire Dragon to get to the top, here it is. The Tire Dragon is about half way up the banking and the Tire Monster is at the top. We're here to make you happy! Any Cup drivers that want to drive them, COME ON! pic.twitter.com/GxJovHgugK
— Eddie Gossage ™️ (@eddiegossage) April 3, 2018
The goal of using the Tire Monster and Dragon is to help facilitate a usable racing groove by laying down a similar tire compound.
However, drivers tend to complain to track officials that the speedway should run the machines on the highest racing groove because the bottom groove is expected to come in throughout the course of the weekend.
For Goodyear, creating a tire has three major concerns: fresh asphalt creates excessive grip resulting in higher speeds and heat in the tires; a smooth surface does not allow for tires to shred rubber; and little rubber gets worked into the racing groove.
In January, Goodyear held a tire test that resulted in a new left-side tire compound to help generate more wear and dissipate more heat. Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. participated in the tire test.
“We had a good test at Texas and we were able to address some of the challenges that all repaves present,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, in a press release. “This being just the third NASCAR Cup race since the repave, the track surface has not really had the chance to weather in, so to speak.
“This new left-side tire matches up well with this still smooth surface and will accomplish our goal of increased wear and laying rubber on the track. That should lead to an increased level of fall-off over the course of a fuel run and a widened racing groove.”
With the work track officials are doing, drivers are optimistic that the racing groove will widen.
“Texas is a very fast place. The repave and reconfiguration last year changed it a lot from my races there in the XFINITY Series the two years before. Turns 1 and 2 are tricky because there is less banking and the track hasn’t widened out much. I feel like getting through there is going to be a challenge for everyone,” Daniel Suarez stated.
“Turns 3 and 4 are more similar to what we had before, but the pavement is still very new. Hopefully the work the track has been doing leading up to the race will help widen it out and give us the opportunity to race side by side to put on a good show for the fans.”
Ty Dillon echoed the sentiments of Suarez.
“We call Atlanta a one-off mile-and-a-half because of its worn out surface and how rough it is on tires. It’s a whole different beast than what Texas is, especially now that Texas has been through the repave. It is almost flat in Turns 1 and 2 and is high-banked in Turns 3 and 4,” Dillon stated.
“Texas is really becoming its own beast as well because of that. When the repave first happened, the racing really suffered for a bit because of it. But, as a driver, I get a sense that the racing will be much better this year as the groove widens and the grip starts to wear down
Goodyear and NASCAR have allotted seven sets of tires for the whole event for XFINITY; Cup teams will have four sets for practice, one set for qualifying and the start of the race, and nine sets for the remainder of the event.