Phoenix Finale Marred by Tire Woes, but Scrutiny Falls on Teams, Not Tire Manufacturer

Phoenix Raceway’s championship-deciding NASCAR Cup Series race was dramatically punctuated by a series of tire failures that significantly impacted the outcome, yet the consensus among drivers and team principals pointed not towards a fault in the Goodyear product, but rather the aggressive strategies employed by the teams themselves. The issues began to surface during Friday’s practice sessions and escalated throughout the weekend, culminating in multiple tire-related incidents during Sunday’s season finale, ultimately forcing the race into overtime.

Goodyear had supplied a softer compound tire for the crucial Phoenix event, a decision intended to enhance racing dynamics and place more emphasis on driver skill. However, the weekend’s events revealed that the pursuit of competitive advantage led many teams to push the boundaries of the tire manufacturer’s recommendations, particularly concerning air pressure.

Every contender in the Championship Four – Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and William Byron – experienced at least one tire issue during the race. The most dramatic incident occurred in the closing laps when the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by William Byron, suffered a blown tire, necessitating a caution flag and sending the race into an extended overtime period.

The tire problems were not isolated to the championship contenders. Throughout the race, a cascade of tire failures affected numerous drivers. In the second stage, Chase Briscoe and Kyle Busch both encountered tire issues. Shortly thereafter, A.J. Allmendinger, driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, slammed into the Turn 3 wall for the second time that weekend due to a flat tire. The Dillon brothers, Austin and Ty, also reported cut tires, and Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, indicated a low tire pressure situation under caution.

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The final stage saw a continuation of these problems. Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford both suffered cut tires. A flat tire on Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet brought out another caution. Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford also experienced tire failures, with Cindric making hard contact with the wall. J.J. Yeley’s No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford and Byron’s car completed the list of those affected by tire issues that directly impacted race flow. Of the eight natural cautions that occurred during the event, all but the first two were directly attributed to tire-related incidents, underscoring the widespread nature of the problem.

Despite the prevalence of tire issues, the prevailing sentiment from the drivers and team principals was one of understanding and even praise for Goodyear. Denny Hamlin, who ultimately finished second in the championship after the overtime restart, voiced a strong defense of the tire supplier. “Well, I think they (Goodyear) did a great job all season long,” Hamlin stated. “It’s not their fault that we’re running the tires flat. I really applaud them and the tires that they’ve continued to bring to the racetrack and keep pushing the limits on softer, softer, to try to put it back in the drivers’ hands.”

Hamlin elaborated on the root cause, placing the responsibility squarely on the teams’ aggressive setup strategies. “It’s the teams. They’re the ones that come here and we test. There’s wheel force test. They keep testing the limits of really how low you can go. It would be difficult for anyone to build a tire that can withstand what we’re doing to it with this car. They’re in a really tough spot. Certainly I think, if anything, they deserve credit.” He further emphasized that the tire failures were not a product of design flaws but rather the teams’ relentless pursuit of performance by operating at the very edge of what the tires could endure. “We’re just running our tires super low because that’s where they perform the best. Everyone is testing the limits. A lot of people found it.”

Race winner Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, echoed Hamlin’s sentiment. “Just flirting with air pressure,” Blaney commented on the situation. “These guys, that’s kind of the game. How low can you get. Just helps the long-run speed and grip. There’s kind of a basement. We have saw that a couple champ guys blew one. I think 19 and 24 blew one.”

Joey Logano, Blaney’s teammate at Team Penske, reinforced this perspective, directly attributing the tire problems to the teams’ aggressive setups. "If you’re aggressive, you’re gonna pay the price when it comes to air-pressure. No one should be blaming Goodyear or anything like that. It’s not on them, it’s on the teams and the settings that they put in their cars. The more aggressive you are, the faster it goes and the more likely it’s gonna blow out. All of us are just trying to figure out where that edge is.”

Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, whose team saw three of its four drivers experience tire failures, also offered a measured perspective. “I have to give Goodyear a lot of credit,” Hendrick stated. “We’ve been trying to improve the product on track of tire wear, tire degradation, falloff of lap time, to be able to mix up different lanes, have guys that have tires wear out and all that sort of thing.” He acknowledged the inherent conflict between performance and safety: “What we do as the teams is we try to push every area to extract the grip out of the tires that we have to do. There’s several ways that you can do it: with load, with camber, with pressure. It’s one of those things where the performance side of it, there’s so much to be gained in what we have to push to get the performance out of ‘em, that safety is absolutely a concern. The longevity and ability of your day to stay in the mix is, of course, a concern.”

However, Hendrick also noted that even with what he considered conservative settings at one point, a tire failure still occurred. He suggested that external factors might also have played a role, though he reiterated his confidence in Goodyear. “Today was a really hot day,” Hendrick observed. “There was a lot of punishment of load and pace in the car and in the tires. I certainly don’t think in any way that is a miss on Goodyear’s part. I think we all knew what we were all working with coming in today. And it was hot. It was the perfect conditions set to really punish the tires, with the tire they brought, with what we had on track. That’s just kind of the way it was.”

Blaney also speculated that the unique characteristics of the Phoenix Raceway layout might have contributed to the unpredictable nature of the tire issues. “I think here is such an unknown because you have that dogleg that puts a ton of shock load on the tire,” Blaney explained. “There’s not a lot of data for that.” This particular track geometry, combined with the heat and aggressive tire management, created a challenging environment for tire durability.

The tire failures at Phoenix ultimately added a layer of unpredictable drama to the NASCAR Cup Series season finale, highlighting the fine line teams walk in optimizing performance while managing mechanical sympathy. While the issues undoubtedly impacted the race’s narrative and the performance of several key drivers, the consensus within the garage appeared to be that the responsibility lay with the teams’ relentless pursuit of speed through aggressive setup choices, rather than a fundamental flaw in the tires supplied by Goodyear.