Goodyear Brings New Martinsville Left-Side Tire for More Fall-Off

Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

As the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff contenders are set to battle it out for one final chance to secure a berth into the Championship 4 in Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, there will be a certain level of unknown in the air for crew chiefs and drivers.

On Tuesday, Goodyear announced that it will bring a brand new left-side tire compound for the final race of the Playoffs Round of 8, which has been designed to create more fall-off over a long run than the previous tire used at the 0.526-mile short track.

"We have brought a new left-side Goodyear Racing Eagle tire for the final short track race of the NASCAR Cup Series season," said Rick Heinrich, Goodyear NASCAR product manager. "Fitting in with our ongoing efforts to deliver tires that offer increased grip and more lap time fall-off over the course of a run, we look forward to seeing this new tread compound tackle the concrete corners and the asphalt straightaways that make up Martinsville."

The new left-side tire compound was tested earlier this year during a Goodyear Tire test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Goodyear will pair the new left-side tire compound with a right-side tire, which has been used, with success, in five different races this season.

The right-side tire has been used at Bowman Gray Stadium (the Clash), Martinsville Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Richmond Raceway, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR Cup Series teams will have a total of 11 sets of the standard tires to use throughout the weekend of action at Martinsville Speedway, including nine sets of stickers for the race, one set for practice, and one set for qualifying, which can be transferred to Sunday's race as a scuffed-in set.

Teams will also have four wet-weather sets of tires in case precipitation becomes a factor in this weekend's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Heading into Sunday's race, Chase Briscoe, who won at Talladega Superspeedway last weekend, and Denny Hamlin, who won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, have locked their places in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 field, which remains two slots up for grabs among the remaining six Playoff drivers.

Christopher Bell comes into Sunday's race 37 points above the Playoff cutline, while Kyle Larson sits 36 points above the cutline, but neither driver will feel comfortable throughout the 500-lap race, as a win by a driver below the cutline would put Bell and Larson in a head-to-head battle with a tight point margin for the final Championship 4 slot.

Related: NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Grid After Talladega

As far as the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, this weekend those teams will be working with the exact same tire compounds that Goodyear has brought to their respective series events at Martinsville Speedway since the start of the 2022 season.