RICHMOND, Va. -- Brad Keselowski had a blunt statement for media members after testing out the new Richmond Raceway tire combination on Friday afternoon. Based on his math, eight sets of sticker tires will not be enough for 400 laps.
"We're in trouble," the 2012 Cup champion said after practice at the Virginia short track. "The tire is supposed to be the option tire. It doesn't look like the option tire. It doesn't drive like the option tire."
The option tire Keselowski referenced is the softer tire that Goodyear brought to Richmond last season. It delivered more tire wear, as well as more grip early in the run. It helped drivers navigate through the field better than their competitors on the harder, "standard" tires.
This option tire makes up the right side of this year's combination. The left side tire, however, is actually softer. This is something the drivers quickly noticed as they practiced on a hot and humid afternoon.
"It's going to be harder to run more than 50 laps on it," Keselowski said. "If you look at the amount of tires we have, we have enough tires to go, I think, it's like 45 laps a set. Rough math. Not enough.
"So the math ain't mathing, but I might be wrong. Maybe something will change and we'll get it at nighttime and the tires will extend their life cycle more than what we've seen in practice. But right now it does not look good."
Keselowski doesn't expect to go 50 laps on a set of tires. Meanwhile, one of his RFK Racing teammates expressed hope that they could run 70 laps.
This way, they could complete the entire first stage without making a pit stop, provided the teams did not see a rash of cautions.
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"My math would say that somebody coming in and pitting after 35 laps and splitting a 70-lap stage, where there is a lot of potential for cautions and putting you two laps down, the risk is too much," pole-winner Ryan Preece said.
"So, from what I see and what our job is gonna have to be if it does go green, is to manage those tires and do the best you can there. So, make it work."
NASCAR and Goodyear have run into tire allotment issues in the past. This happened last season at Bristol Motor Speedway when tires wore much faster than expected, leading to multiple cautions.
NASCAR responded by releasing an extra set of tires. This helped the teams with strategy as they attempted to complete the short track race.
This is something that could happen again on Saturday night as drivers battle for the remaining playoff spots. This is not a guarantee, however, so the drivers will have to put extra emphasis on tire management early in the race as they try to determine how differently the tires wear at night compared to a mid-afternoon practice session.
Honestly, some drivers would welcome this opportunity.
"If we manage them well, then we'll be alright," Michael McDowell said. "Practice always magnifies what I feel like you're going to have in a race, right? Like that first set, you always wear more than you probably do. Maybe not the first run, but second, third, fourth run.
"So, I had a lot of fun (during practice). I felt like it fell off really hard. And it felt like you were going to have to be very diligent about making good choices and protecting your tires. So, I'm excited about that. I hope it actually is like that."