Phoenix Punctured by Tire Woes, But Teams Point Fingers Inward, Not at Goodyear

Phoenix Raceway became a stage of dramatic tire failures during the NASCAR Cup Series finale, but the consensus among drivers and team owners points away from the tire manufacturer, Goodyear. Instead, the blame for the widespread tire issues is being placed squarely on the aggressive strategies employed by the championship contenders and the entire field, as they pushed the limits of tire pressure to gain a crucial speed advantage.

The trouble began as early as Friday’s practice sessions, foreshadowing a weekend where tire durability would be a significant talking point. Goodyear, aiming to put more performance back into the drivers’ hands, supplied a softer compound for the season-deciding race. However, this move, coupled with the inherent demands of the Phoenix track, proved to be a volatile combination.

Throughout the race, tire failures became a recurring theme, impacting nearly every competitor, and critically, all four championship contenders. The first indication of trouble emerged during the second stage. Chase Briscoe was among the first to report a cut tire, followed closely by Kyle Busch. A.J. Allmendinger, a wildcard contender in this race, also found himself facing a flat tire that sent him into the Turn 3 wall, marking his second incident in that corner over the weekend. The situation escalated with both of the Dillon brothers experiencing tire issues, and Denny Hamlin reporting a low tire pressure warning under caution shortly thereafter.

The final stage saw these issues intensify, with Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe again suffering from tire problems. A caution flag was brought out due to a blown tire on Carson Hocevar’s car. Alex Bowman then joined the list of drivers with tire failures, followed by Austin Cindric, who impacted the wall after a tire let go on corner entry. J.J. Yeley also encountered a tire issue, culminating in William Byron’s race-altering tire failure in the closing laps, which ultimately sent the championship race into overtime. Out of the eight natural cautions that occurred during the event, all but the first two were directly attributed to tire-related incidents.

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Despite the widespread nature of the tire failures, the sentiment from those in the garage was not to point fingers at Goodyear. Multiple crew chiefs admitted to deliberately running lower air pressures than recommended by Goodyear in pursuit of performance gains. This strategy, while often rewarding in terms of grip and lap speed, carries an inherent risk of tire failure.

Denny Hamlin, who narrowly missed out on the championship after the overtime finish, was vocal in his defense of Goodyear. "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 teams’ role in the tire issues, highlighting the constant push for an edge. "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 issue wasn’t with the tire’s design, but rather the teams’ aggressive approach to setup. "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 echoed Hamlin’s sentiments, acknowledging the team’s gamble with tire pressures. "Just flirting with air pressure," Blaney said. "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, agreed, placing the responsibility on the teams. "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, which saw three of its four cars experience tire failures, also offered praise for Goodyear’s efforts to improve the racing product. "I have to give Goodyear a lot of credit," Hendrick commented. "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."

However, Hendrick also acknowledged the fine line teams walk. "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."

Hendrick further noted that even with increased air pressures, which his team had implemented at one point as a "conservative" measure, a tire failure still occurred. This suggests that the extreme conditions and aggressive setups can push the limits of even slightly more cautious tire parameters. He also pointed to the challenging nature of the Phoenix track itself, particularly on a hot day. "Today was a really hot day," Hendrick said. "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 hypothesized that the unique characteristics of the Phoenix Raceway layout contributed to the unpredictability of tire wear. "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 specific track feature, combined with the general push for performance, created a perfect storm for tire issues.

The race ultimately concluded with Kyle Larson securing his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in a dramatic overtime finish, while Ryan Blaney captured the race win. However, the lasting memory for many will be the widespread tire failures, a testament to the high-stakes, high-reward nature of championship racing where teams are willing to push boundaries, even at the risk of a tire letting go. The situation underscored the delicate balance between performance and durability, a constant challenge for both Goodyear and the NASCAR teams.