Note: The original press release listed the Prime tires as the compound for this weekend. Goodyear has since sent an updated version clarifying that the softer tire compound will be the selection.
Last season's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway featured multiple tire compound options for the NASCAR teams. This season, however, Goodyear will have one choice for the Cup Series exhibition race.
According to the longtime tire partner, this weekend's All-Star Race will use the same left- and right-side tires that made up the softer compound from races earlier this season. This compound was used for the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium and the spring race at Martinsville Speedway. It is softer, and it wears much faster than the Prime Tires used previously at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The creation of this compound continued the pursuit of improved racing at NASCAR's short tracks.
"Teams will be focused on racing and battling for track position," Stu Grant, general manager for global race tires at Goodyear, said in January. "We look forward to learning at Bowman Gray and applying that knowledge to our short-track tire package going forward."
While this year's trip to North Wilkesboro Speedway will not involve multiple tire choices, the teams will have the softer wet-weather tires in case inclement weather hits the track. These are the same wet-weather tires used at the historic short track in 2023 and on the streets of Chicago last season.
Heading into the month of May, the drivers still had questions about the tire setup for the All-Star Race. Defending winner Joey Logano, in particular, remained unsure how the compound would affect the strategy. Would teams change how they approach late restarts based on how the softer tires are wearing, or would they gamble and stay out on track to gain spots?
"If it's falling off that hard late in the run, when you get to 30 to go, is it worth putting on a set there when that caution comes out?" Logano asked during a media event at North Wilkesboro Speedway. "I don't know. We'll see when we get there and see what place you're in.
"That's the thing about the All-Star Race, which is kind of fun. Everyone's racing for a million bucks, and that's it. Nobody cares about finishing second or third or getting top five in the All-Star Race. Nobody cares. It's about winning the race. And so you have a lot more crew chiefs and teams saying, 'Let's go for it. Like all or nothing.'"
Logano and his team will have opportunities to see how the tires wear during multiple on-track sessions at North Wilkesboro. They will have two sets of these tires for practice on Friday evening and two sets for qualifying. They will have one set of sticker tires and the two from qualifying, which they can use during one of Saturday night's heat races.
Finally, all of the Cup Series teams will have five sets of tires for Sunday's All-Star Race.