Are drivers ready for a new ‘Option’ at Phoenix?
AVONDALE, Ariz. — This weekend at Phoenix Raceway will present a new “Option” that could potentially decide the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
The NASCAR Cup Series will use option tires for the second time in a points race. During its debut at Richmond Raceway in August, the option tire received praise for giving teams another strategy tool to gain track position with.
Daniel Suarez, for example, restarted outside of the top-20 on lap 80 of 400 at Richmond and took the lead 13 laps later. He then led four times for 93 laps and won stage two.
In the final stage, however, he sunk through the field and off the lead lap as he had to take regular tires while other teams had the option tires. That was by design as, in the final 68 laps with the option tires, he was on pace to make up a 10-second deficit to the leader.
Ultimately, Suarez stalled out in the back half of the top-10 and finished 10th in overtime.
If the option tire is received just as well at Phoenix, NASCAR stated they will use it during the championship race in November.
“We quite successfully ran an Option twice last season so we now get a look at it on a racy, one mile track. Cup teams will have two sets of Options for the race so we’ll see, like at the second Richmond race last season, how teams will deploy them to best maximize their strategy,” said Stu Grant, Goodyear’s general manager of global race tires.
What do drivers think? Austin Cindric believes it will make a difference but won’t drastically change the race.
“It’s a variable for sure, and I think it changes strategy. Similar to Richmond, I don’t feel like you’re gonna change your day as far as track position, but it can certainly influence things and be a strategy play to be the first to do the right thing. It’s always interesting to see how those things play out, and I think Phoenix is kind of an evolution to seeing what we can try there,” Cindric said.
Buescher said having a good baseline on the setup will mean more success with the option tires.
“For the 17 group, we’ve been really good there the last several races, so we have a very solid baseline, which I think gives us opportunity to try some stuff. that puts us on the option tire maybe off the truck. I don’t know if we’ll do that, but maybe try and get that longer run in on the option and kind of have trust in our standard tire being what it has been the last several times and being very competitive,” Buescher said.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com