One of the main challenges faced by Cup teams at the beginning of the Next-Gen era was tire performance. The introduction of Next-Gen cars in 2022 brought a lot of uncertainty about how the cars would behave, leading to a turbulent tire situation in the NASCAR Cup Series. This uncertainty was especially prominent in the debut season of the 7th Gen car. As a result, teams often ended up with unused and unnecessary tires due to tire allocation for the weekend.
The issue of tire waste and NASCAR sustainability has been a topic of recent discussion. During an interview on the Action Detrimental Podcast, a driver from Joe Gibbs Racing spoke about the challenges teams faced in the 2022 season. The driver, who drives the Toyota Camry No:11, revealed that his team had a stock of tires worth nearly $1 million that were wasted that year.
The amount of money spent on unused tires could have been used for other purposes, such as improving team facilities. The co-owner of 23XI Racing expressed concern about the lack of option to return unused tires to Goodyear for sustainability and cost reduction reasons.
In recent weeks, NASCAR has faced criticism for the racing product on short tracks like Richmond Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway. The issues seem to stem from the lack of power and overall package of the next-gen car on short tracks. In light of this, Denny Hamlin, a driver from Joe Gibbs Racing, shared his suggestions on how to improve the situation.
Hamlin emphasized the need for NASCAR to actively work on improving the front tires, as they have traditionally been the cause of issues on short tracks. NASCAR will likely consider Hamlin’s suggestions to enhance side-by-side racing and the overall racing experience. Currently, Goodyear and NASCAR are working on alternative solutions to address these issues.
