Tire trouble stole the spotlight during Friday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway, turning what was expected to be a routine session into a chaotic one filled with blown tires and frustrated teams.
The same Goodyear tire combination that has been used at tracks such as Richmond and New Hampshire proved to be a poor fit for the Arizona surface.
It began early when Chase Briscoe, one of the four championship contenders, and AJ Allmendinger both blew left-rear tires within seconds of each other. Both drivers managed to avoid the wall, but the session was stopped under red flag conditions.
Once practice resumed, it did not take long for more problems to appear.
Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez each suffered similar tire failures, prompting another red flag.
Shortly after the track went green again, Riley Herbst lost a left rear and hit the wall hard, though no caution was displayed that time.
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Allmendinger’s difficult practice session got worse when his right-front tire blew entering the corner, sending his car straight into the wall at full speed.
The impact ended his session on the spot and forced his Kaulig Racing team to pull out a backup car.
Even as the clock wound down, the problems continued.
With about 15 minutes remaining, Kyle Busch came to a stop on track with another left-rear tire failure, bringing out yet another red flag.
Briscoe’s practice session was one he would rather forget.
His first tire failure damaged the diffuser on his car, keeping him in the garage for much of the session. When he finally returned to the track, he quickly reported a vibration and brought the car back to the garage again.
By the end of the session, Ty Gibbs sat atop the charts with a fast lap of 27.300 seconds, one of the few clean runs of the afternoon.
For everyone else, the focus quickly shifted from speed to survival.
With the championship race looming, teams were left scrambling for answers and hoping that Friday’s string of tire issues does not carry into the most important race of the season.
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