Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will feature a new tire compound as Goodyear seeks tire falloff and improved passing opportunities.
The new compound will feature "increased tread thickness," which Goodyear says is designed to keep more heat in the tires. This should lead to more fall-off throughout a run, as well as more passing opportunities for drivers who save their tires.
New Hampshire is 1.058 miles and not technically a "short track," but NASCAR and Goodyear treat it as one. They have held tests at New Hampshire while trying to improve the overall short-track package. These tests led to the debut of a new tire compound in last season's race and another new compound for this weekend's 301-lap event.
"NASCAR teams have always been in a search for grip at Loudon," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing, in a press release. "We've made a couple adjustments for our tire set-up for this track over the past year-plus, as we continue to work on the short-track racing package.
"After adding more grip at Loudon in '23 with a tread compound change, we've rolled in a change that we have on all of the short tracks for this season by increasing the tread gage. That move helps the tire maintain more heat over a run which will, in turn, lead to more fall-off and more passing."
Goodyear has released recommended tire pressure numbers for the new tire compound. The left front tire and left rear tire should both be at 14 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). The right front should be at 30 PSI. The right rear should be at 26 PSI. Going below the recommended PSI could lead to tire issues.
Cup teams have used this tire setup twice this season -- once at North Wilkesboro Speedway and once at Iowa Speedway. They also used this left-side tire at Phoenix, Richmond, and Gateway. Though there were different right-side tires.
Teams will have eight sets of tires for the Cup race -- seven sticker sets and one that transfers from qualifying. They will also have access to four sets of wet-weather tires if the need arises. The forecast calls for chances of both rain and thunderstorms throughout the weekend.