Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Drivers back Formula 1-style option tyres in NASCAR after All-Star

Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson believes Formula 1-style 'option' tyres have a future in the series after a trial at the All-Star race at Charlotte on Saturday night

With overtaking having proved difficult at the 1.5-mile oval in recent years, drivers were complimentary about attempts to spice up the racing without adding artifice during the four-segment knockout race for $1million.

"Personally I don't have a problem with trying it," said Johnson.

"It's better than having a button that makes the wing go down or a button that gives you more horsepower.

"I think it's a good way to create different pace in the field."

Asked if he felt the concept had a future in the Cup series, Johnson replied: "In my opinion, yes.

"We see it work in Formula 1, and we see it work in IndyCar."

Despite initial promise in practice, cooler track temperatures during the evening race meant the green-lettered option Goodyears did not provide a significant advantage on the night.

"The handling from my car was the same on the yellows versus the greens," said Johnson.

"I didn't see a huge shift in trends over the run, so it just had a bit more grip and went faster for a short period of time."

Race rules dictated the tyres had to be put on as a complete set of four, brand new, and any car using them in the final segment would start at the back of the pack and have to fight through.

But without any significant performance advantage from the softer compound, teams kept track position and stuck with the regular tyres at the end, though some teams attempted to exploit loopholes.

Clint Bowyer swapped two green tyres for yellows before the third segment, only to quickly fall down the order on his mixed set when racing resumed.

"I read the entry blanks and stuff before I got here and I never saw it in there so I had kind of planned to do this," said Bowyer's Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Mike Bugarewicz.

"If it's not in there I guess I can do it, right?"

Brad Keselowski claimed "NASCAR made up a rule" when his Penske crew was stopped from re-using a set of greens that had only run two laps under caution, in the final segment.

Drivers believe the concept has potential - particularly if there is a greater disparity between the tyres' performance.

Second-place finisher Kyle Larson said: "In the future maybe they could bring a tyre that has even more grip and more of a speed and lap time difference."

Race winner Kyle Busch echoed Larson's view.

"I was a fan of it. I thought it was pretty good, pretty fun, and gave my car a better sense of feel that I was looking for throughout the run," he said.

"There's a chance we could probably go a little bit softer, utilise a little bit more grip in order to be faster, and have more split between the two tyres."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article NASCAR All-Star: Kyle Busch beats rivals on final restart to win
Next article Calls for NASCAR All-Star to move after poor 2017 race

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe