NASCAR has begun to take random samplings of tires from multiple cars at the end of each race. The tire confiscation was first noted two weeks ago at Chicagoland, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
As first reported by Motorsport.com, the tires of four teams (Nos. 2, 4, 31 and 78) were taken back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for evaluation. The thought was that these teams may have been bleeding air from the tires to gain more grip than NASCAR’s mandated air inflation allows for.
Again this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the Sylvania 300, NASCAR confiscated four more team’s tires after post-race inspection was complete. Tires from the No. 13 of Casey Mears, the No. 22 of race winner Joey Logano, the No. 42 of Kyle Larson, and the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson.
Sprint Cup Series Director Richard Buck told Motorsport.com, “That’s just part of expanding the R&D Center. We bring the stuff back, keep it under our custody like we do with all the parts that are there and keep them for further evaluation. It’s just part of the process. Some were taken during the race, some after. It’s just a nice sampling of what’s out there.”
There was no confirmation or admission that there were any issues with the tires taken by NASCAR.
Greg has been with Frontstretch since 2014. A life-long NASCAR follower armed with an extensive sport and digital marketing background, Greg assists the marketing team and helps to manage relationships with some of the website's sponsors. From time to time his work appears on Frontstretch, focusing on the business side of racing and how financial partnerships are affecting the sport. He and his family reside in southern Connecticut.