Brad Keselowski questions Richmond tire allotment, but NASCAR sees no need for more sets

RICHMOND, Va. — Brad Keselowski questions if teams will have enough sets of tires for Saturday night’s Cup race at Richmond Raceway, but NASCAR does not plan on approving additional sets for teams before the 400-lap race.

Richmond Raceway’s abrasive track surface and a softer tire by Goodyear have Keselowski and others in the garage concerned ahead of Saturday’s race (coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network).

It’s the only Cup race at the 0.75-mile this season.

“We’re in trouble,” Keselowski said when asked by NBC Sports if there are enough sets of tires for teams to run the race.

Keselowski admitted “I might be wrong. Maybe something will change and we’ll get in the night time and the tires will extend their life cycle more than what we’ve seen in practice. But right now it does not look good.”

Teams will have eight sets of new tires plus the set of tires they will start Saturday’s race. NASCAR, in consultation with Goodyear, determines how many sets of tires teams are allowed per race.

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Blake Harris, crew chief for Alex Bowman, said a request was made for an extra set of tires.

Without an extra set, what does Harris envision Saturday night’s race?

“It’s kind of like the Truck race,” Harris told NBC Sports. “They don’t get enough tires and it’s boring. Nobody passes. Nobody can be on off-strategies. Everybody doesn’t stop the first stage and everybody two-stops the second and third stage and then you’ve got one set for one caution the whole race. … You don’t put tires on until you have to.”

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Lap times in Friday’s Cup practice showed more than a three-second falloff in time from a driver’s best lap to about 40 laps into a run.

Drivers have continually asked Goodyear to bring a softer tire to tracks so there is more tire wear. The right side tire teams have this weekend is the same as the option tire that was used in this race last year. The left-side tire is “uber soft,” according Rick Heinrich, product manager for Goodyear.

Heinrich was pleased with what he saw in Friday’s practice with tire wear.

“They’ve really performed spot-on because we’re seeing that kind of fall-off,” Heinrich told NBC Sports about the tires. “We’re not seeing people showing that they can’t go as far as they’re going to have to go (Saturday) night. You’re going to have to put at lease 37 laps on a set of tires to able to make the math work. We’re seeing people go well beyond that.”

Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio he was “not ... impressed” with how Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell raced each other at Watkins Glen.

During Friday’s practice, Joey Logano hit the wall after his right front tire lost air pressure.

“What happened to the tire was a consequence of air pressure, but we don’t know … what led to that,” Heinrich said.

The right-side and left-side tires used at Richmond have been run at Martinsville, Bowman Gray and North Wilkesboro earlier this season. Heinrich confirmed that the Richmond tires will be used for next month’s playoff race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Heinrich said no decision has been made on what tires will be used for Martinsville — the penultimate race in the playoffs — and the championship race at Phoenix.

“We want to make sure we’re as educated as possible before we make that call,” Heinrich said. “(Saturday) is important for us. What we see, the data, it helps us build that knowledge base to be able to move forward.”