NASCAR conducted its first wet weather tire test on an intermediate track on Monday at Homestead-Miami Speedway to positive initial feedback.
The test featured Alex Bowman, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Preece on five different sets of tires, one controlled standard tire and four different sets of experimental wet weather options. Cup Series managing director Brad Moran detailed the experience on Tuesday during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“They wet the track down the night before, so it was damp, and they got it wet prior to the start of the test,” Moran said. “From my reports – and we’ll go through this thoroughly later today in our competition meeting – the tires held up really well. They did a great job.
“They were running up against the wall and kind of all over the racetrack in the wet. There was some spray, which we anticipated. The speeds are obviously much higher when we go to mile-and-a-halfs, so we’ve probably got a little work to do there. But overall, it was a really good test. All three drivers agreed on the tire they all liked; they were all in agreement that it was the best tire. We gained a lot.”
This has been a direction pushed by NASCAR CEO Jim France, who has sought to shorten the amount of time it takes after a downpour to get any given track ready to begin or resume a race after a passing storm. The first instance of wet weather tires came on road courses, which is a pretty standard application across all motorsports, but then came usage on short ovals next.
NASCAR has implemented wet weather tires for Cup Series races at North Wilkesboro, Richmond and New Hampshire over the past two seasons but this was the first time the experiment has been even tested on an oval larger than one mile.
“We started doing some testing a few years ago,” Moran said. “Obviously, we got to see more of it this year, and it worked out very well in New Hampshire as well as North Wilkesboro. It certainly helped us get back to racing and helped the fans have the opportunity to enjoy the race when they come.
“So, again, we have not been running in downpours, but we certainly have run on wet tracks. Goodyear has done a fabulous job with the tires.”