Tire management is shaping up to be the defining factor at Circuit of the Americas this season. With the shift to a 750-horsepower package, drivers who burn through their rubber early will pay a heavy price late in the race.
COTA’s Brutal Conditions Push NASCAR Drivers to Their Limits
AJ Allmendinger admitted it likely gives Shane van Gisbergen a bigger edge, though he noted the horsepower gap is not massive. The bigger issue, Allmendinger said, is that drivers who are already rough on tires will struggle even more.
“But I definitely think if you’re burning the rear tires off, it’s going to make it worse, or you’re just going to have to really be gentle with the throttle,” he said.
Van Gisbergen has made tire conservation look easy, winning five straight road-course races. Denny Hamlin has shown similar discipline on ovals, where tire wear can make or break a race strategy.
Not every driver has that background. Riley Herbst openly admitted he has little experience managing tires at this level. That gap in experience could cost him and others dearly on race day.
So how do drivers close that gap? According to Hamlin, the simulator and available data are valuable tools.
Goodyear and NASCAR have worked hard to introduce softer compounds that create multi-second performance falloff over long runs. That makes studying tire behavior more important than ever.
“It is a little different. You used to not really worry about tires wearing out on the road courses, and NASCAR and Goodyear are making a really good push to get us softer tires. We’re seeing multi-second falloff,” Hamlin explained.
Michael McDowell described the process as a constant balancing act. Drivers have to push themselves without pushing the tire past its limit. Coming off the brake earlier and easing back onto the throttle are part of it. He was straightforward in saying it is a never-ending process with no clear finish line.
Chase Briscoe offered some insight into how he began to wrap his head around the concept. His former team owner, Tony Stewart, gave him a simple mental model to work with.
Think of the tire as a battery, Stewart told him. Every slide, every slip chips away at what is left. Once the battery is dead, it is not coming back.
Briscoe admitted he still runs out of batteries more than he would like. But having that visual framework has helped him think differently about every moment behind the wheel.
For drivers still developing that instinct, COTA will be an unforgiving classroom this weekend.
