Phoenix Practice Erupts in Tire Mayhem as Championship Contenders Push Limits

The final NASCAR Cup Series practice session preceding the championship race at Phoenix Raceway was anything but routine, as a series of dramatic left-side tire failures plagued the field, including multiple championship contenders. This unexpected tire degradation threw a significant curveball into race preparations, forcing teams to re-evaluate their strategies and potentially altering the competitive landscape for Sunday’s title decider.

The alarming trend began with Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing experiencing a left-side tire failure. This incident set a concerning precedent, which was soon followed by two consecutive left-side failures for AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing. The second of Allmendinger’s tire issues resulted in a significant impact with the wall, necessitating a move to a backup car for the race. The cascade of problems continued with Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing also suffering a left-side tire failure. Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing then endured two back-to-back left-side tire issues, highlighting a pervasive problem within the session. Further compounding the drama, Riley Herbst of Stewart-Haas Racing spun and crashed due to a tire failure, and Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing experienced a similar fate. Even Chase Elliott, a past champion and contender this season, expressed concern about the potential for similar failures impacting his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

The widespread nature of these left-side tire failures was particularly perplexing given pre-session expectations. Many crew chiefs had anticipated a greater risk of right-side tire issues, influenced by the March wheel force test conducted at Phoenix Raceway, which focused on stresses on the right-side tires. The unexpected prevalence of left-side failures suggests a more complex interaction between the track surface, tire compound, and the aggressive setups teams were testing.

A representative from Goodyear, the sole tire supplier for the NASCAR Cup Series, attributed the issues to teams pushing the boundaries during the limited one-hour practice session. The sentiment from Goodyear suggested that crew chiefs were intentionally seeking the ultimate limits of the tire performance in an effort to gain an advantage, and in doing so, encountered the breaking point.

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Crew chiefs offered their perspectives on the tire failures, largely echoing the notion of aggressive setups. James Small, crew chief for Chase Briscoe on the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, suggested that insufficient tire pressure and excessive camber were contributing factors. "Too low on air, too much camber. Just too aggressive, I guess," Small commented. "You saw it with a number of cars out there, so, don’t know if it’s been resolved yet. We stopped running there. We had a little bit of a scare at the end. We made a lot of changes through the session, so, yeah, we’ll have to look at it more, break these tires down and see."

Rudy Fugle, crew chief for William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, pointed to the unique demands of Phoenix Raceway compared to other tracks where this specific tire compound has been used, such as Richmond and New Hampshire. "There’s definitely some things to learn," Fugle stated. "At the test, I think there were some right side failures. I think we were more concerned about those and what would happen in the left rears were kind of a surprise. But yeah, this is a track that’s tough on tires for what we’re trying to do to them, what we’re trying to do with our situation to make the cars go faster."

Chris Gayle, crew chief for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, concurred with the assessment of increased load at Phoenix. "Definitely the load is the thing, right," Gayle remarked. "He’s right, I don’t think there were any left side failures at the wheel force test. I was a little concerned about left side failures, knowing where we’ve been at other tracks. Started on the cautious side because I didn’t want to have a left rear failure, go the other way, make sure I have a chance to tear down three tires, Goodyear look at them, know it’s going to be okay, get closer to that edge in the race rather than practice."

Beyond the tire drama, Denny Hamlin’s team also grappled with a persistent clutch issue that has plagued the No. 11 car throughout the season. This recurring problem adds another layer of concern for Joe Gibbs Racing as they head into the championship race. At the time of the post-session press conference, Gayle acknowledged the ongoing investigation. "I don’t know much about it now other than the throw is a little off, and he’s having a hard time with it disengaging just because the throw gets so long it won’t disengage," Gayle explained. "We’re looking into it now. I don’t know any more at this point."

From a pure speed perspective, Ty Gibbs of 23XI Racing set the fastest lap of the session. Among the championship finalists, Denny Hamlin recorded the fifth-fastest overall lap, followed by William Byron (ninth), Kyle Larson (eleventh), and Chase Briscoe (sixteenth).

In terms of longer run pace, Ryan Blaney of Team Penske demonstrated strong performance, leading the five-lap averages ahead of Hamlin and Elliott. Blaney also topped the ten-lap averages, with Larson and Byron trailing. Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports led the fifteen-lap averages, with Blaney, Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, and William Byron rounding out the top four.

Notably, Kyle Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, bypassed the mandated post-session press conference to conduct an extended debrief with his team, underscoring the critical nature of the tire issues and the need for immediate analysis and adjustments. The events of this practice session have undoubtedly heightened the tension and intrigue surrounding Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway, as teams scramble to understand and mitigate the tire concerns that dominated the final tune-up.