During All-Star week at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2024, NASCAR and Goodyear rolled out its brand new option tire. This red-sidewalled tire is a softer, faster compound that wears significantly faster than the normal yellow-sidewalled primary tire — a slower but harder tire that didn’t wear as much over a long run.
While the exhibition race was the perfect place to debut and test the option tire, there wasn’t really enough data (aside from Kyle Larson thundering through the field on reds midway through the race) to determine just how effective the option tire was.
The option tires made a return at Richmond Raceway to test how they would perform in an actual race. As Richmond’s race was double the lap length of North WIlkesboro (400 vs. 200), there was a better understanding to be had about the life of the option tires and how they would perform against the primary tires.
They became a hit.
Notably, Daniel Suarez rocketed through the field after putting on reds in stage two. Suarez found his way to the front for 93 laps and picked up a stage win thanks to the tire, eventually ending up with a 10th-place finish.
The hope was that the option tire would become more of a commodity (at least on the short/flat tracks) in 2025, and fans were excited that would hold true when NASCAR announced that the option tire would again return in the spring race at Phoenix Raceway.
Once again, the tire was a success, providing great racing through the field and providing comers and goers throughout the race. Much like Suarez at Richmond, Ryan Preece found himself flying through the field after putting on the reds, surging from 33rd to 10th in just 11 laps at the end of stage one.
The secondary choice in tires has been praised by fans, teams and media alike. There may be a little bias in their opinions, but Suarez and Preece are among the drivers in support of the option tires. My Frontstretch colleague Dalton Hopkins cited the tires as a solution to short-track racing and its issues with the way the Next Gen car races on them.
Some would rather see the softer tire become the tire instead of giving teams a choice, but it’s still a start — NASCAR, we’re on board. You’ve got something good going on, the option tires are a hit. Where are we taking these babies next? Martinsville Speedway, right?
Tires for Martinsville weekend are the same as November. No two different versions of tires this weekend and not expected to have teams choose among two versions (primary and an option) during a race again this year.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 25, 2025
Wait … no?
Now there are a couple ways to interpret what NASCAR is saying. On the one hand, this could be NASCAR saying that it will work on making the option tire the primary tire as some have stated their desire for. So while there would be no option between tires, and everyone would have to run the same tire, those tires have considerably more falloff than the primary tires they race on now. Given just how long drivers can go on one set of tires now, a tire with insane speed but equally insane falloff would be a welcome change to the norm.
On the other hand, this could be NASCAR saying it won’t be rolling out the option tire again — as if it’s saying that the experiment is over, so now let’s all move on. The reason why that could be, I have no idea. However, it would seem a little weird for NASCAR to do away with one of the few things many are in agreement on as a good thing for the sport.
Hopefully NASCAR looks at how well received the softer compound was among fans. Having an option isn’t necessarily something that is needed (though it made strategy a hell of a lot more interesting at times), but it’s clear that the softer tire is the more popular tire.
The tires the NASCAR Cup Series currently runs on a weekly basis are so hard that some tracks can see the drivers run an entire stage (if not further) on one set of tires little to no falloff in speed. It leaves little room for any strategy aside from two-, four- or no-tire calls. With little falloff, the idea of short-pitting is not as favorable as it probably once was (with the obvious exception of tracks with aged surfaces such as Darlington Raceway).
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your stance), at Martinsville and other short tracks on the schedule, there is still an option tire available to use, but only in one specific situation: a damp racetrack. The recently introduced wet-weather tires are on standby at every track under a mile in length, as well as every road course, in the event of rain. The tires can’t be used in the active rain at ovals, but it speeds up the time between rain hitting and cars getting back on track.
And wouldn’t you know it, rain could likely play a factor in Sunday’s (March 30) race at Martinsville. So perhaps we’ll be using two different sets of tires after all.
But it doesn’t change the fact that NASCAR should either rethink its decision to not use option tires again or should work on making the options the primary tire going forward. Many are in support of the tire — it’s just another case of whether or not NASCAR will listen.
One would think as highly as the tires were praised, perhaps making them permanent would help viewership go up, even if just a little bit.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter. He has also assisted with short track content and social media, among other duties he takes/has taken on for the site. In 2025, he became an official member of the National Motorsports Press Association. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight coordinator in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.