Goodyear Aims to Shake Up Strategy in Kansas With New Right-Side Tires

NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell (20) makes a pit stop during the 2024 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. | Amy Kontras-Imagn Images

As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend for the Hollywood Casino 400, crew chiefs will likely be tasked with weighing more strategic options than usual thanks to a new right-side tire developed by Goodyear.

According to a press release from Goodyear, the right-side tires that will be utilized in this weekend's NASCAR Cup Series (tire code D-5290) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (tire code D-6140) Playoff events at Kansas have undergone construction changes, which should force crew chiefs into deciding whether they would prefer better grip or overall speed in their race cars.

“Kansas presents a unique set of conditions for teams - known for its relatively smooth surface, multiple grooves and close finishes - but recent races have shown notable tire wear,” explained Justin Fantozzi, Goodyear operations manager for global race tires. “For both series, new right-side tires are being introduced after undergoing construction changes to increase strategy options for the crew chiefs. This weekend, teams will need to balance grip with outright speed to maximize performance of these new Goodyear Racing Eagle tire setups.”

Goodyear says the new right-side tires will also be used next month at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

While the left-side tires will be a brand-new experiment for NASCAR Cup Series teams, the left-side tire compound will be a familiar one as the D-5284 Goodyear Racing Eagles were utilized earlier this season at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Since moving to the Next Gen car for the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, Kansas Speedway has played host to some of the greatest races and finishes in the series. However, the race at Kansas earlier this year saw a drastic drop-off in excitement as Kyle Larson led 221 of the 267 laps and cruised to a win by 0.712 seconds over Christopher Bell.

The new right-side tire compound could certainly help make Sunday's race at the 1.5-mile speedway interesting as it brings a drastic new wrinkle into how crew chiefs will set their cars up.