Goodyear is keeping things familiar for this weekend's Chase action, supplying tried-and-true tire setups across all three NASCAR national series visiting the 1-mile Arizona oval. Phoenix Raceway presents unique engineering challenges, so the manufacturer is leaning heavily on known quantities rather than rolling the dice.
For the premier division, the NASCAR Cup Series and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series are both rolling back to the exact same tire combination they ran during their most recent visits to the track last March. Meanwhile, the Craftsman Truck Series is dipping back into the setup it last deployed for its season finale last fall.
Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear's Director of Racing for the Americas, explained the logic behind the selections clearly. "The Goodyear Racing Eagles we are bringing this weekend have already been proven on track at Phoenix," said Justin Fantozzi. "This is a somewhat unusual track, so we draw from our typical short track and intermediate track packages, along with a left-side Cup Series tire that only races here."
That specific left-side rubber for the Cup cars is unique to Phoenix, while the right-side tire for Sunday's Freeway Insurance 500—marking the sixth of 10 races in The Chase presented by Mobil 1—has already seen duty at five other tracks this season, most recently at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in August. Sunday's main event kicks off at 3 p.m. ET, with coverage across USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Action begins earlier in the weekend for the supporting categories. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series takes to the track for Saturday's Timberland PRO 200 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW, ESPN Unlimited, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, utilizing a package last seen at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway last month. The Craftsman Truck Series runs Friday's Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by Poet at 7:30 p.m. ET, broadcast on FS2, FOX One, NRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, running on a combination that has logged four outings since last year's championship race.
Teams across the board will also have safety nets ready if the skies open up. All three series will have access to wet-weather tires, with four sets allocated for each Cup Series team and three sets each for the O'Reilly and Trucks squads.
Strict limits govern the weekend, with specific tire allotments set for every team. Cup Series competitors receive 11 total sets, split into eight new sets for the race, one for qualifying which transfers to the race, and two for practice. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series will each operate with five total sets, giving them three new sets for the race, one for qualifying that transfers to the race, and one for practice.
