What Does NASCAR Do With All Those Used Tires After A Race?

A number of components face wear and tear in a racecar during NASCAR races, and tires sit high on that list. Race tires are all about grip, not longevity. A NASCAR race tire has to place greater than 750 horsepower to the bottom and supply maximum traction at 200 miles per hour. A race tire lasts as much as 100 miles, and the typical length of a race is 400 miles. A NASCAR race team is allotted anywhere between five and 14 tire sets, depending on the race length (a team is allowed five sets to get through practice and qualifying). A racecar typically goes through nine to 14 tire changes during a race.

4 tires per change equates to anywhere between 36 and 56 tires, and in case you consider each automobile within the 40-car NASCAR roster, that is a freaking mountain of tires after each race. No, they do not find yourself as bonfire fodder for an area festival. The reply lies in where these tires come from.

Since 1954, Goodyear has been NASCAR’s official tire sponsor and sole supplier, in addition to the resident blimp over its races. Goodyear doesn’t sell the tires to groups; it leases them. At the top of every race, the tires are returned. There are several good reasons Goodyear takes back these tires. There higher be, given the logistical nightmare of transporting as much as 300,000 used tires across all of NASCAR’s race series back every season. What happens to NASCAR tires, in some ways, is kind of much like what happens to F1 tires after a race.

After the race, the spent tires are either sent for recycling or held back for evaluation. The tires are recycled through NASCAR’s official tire recycler, Liberty Tire Recycling. They recycle as much as 120,000 Goodyear tires annually from just NASCAR’s top three national series. As a component of NASCAR’s green initiative, these racing tires might be converted into rubber mulch utilized in landscaping. These work higher than wood mulch in stopping ground soil from washing away.

The tires are recycled into rubberized asphalt, which is used to pave NASCAR’s racetracks and parking lots across the country. Also they are shredded into tiny coin-sized rubber bits. Besides getting used in landscaping and road constructing, additionally it is used as fuel for kilns and boilers in concrete mills and paper factories.

A number of the spent tires are chosen for evaluation. Goodyear engineers examine wear patterns to grasp their track performance, and the information is used for future development.

As a souvenir, yes. You may buy cut and autographed tire patches and even a complete used tire signed by racing legends on sports memorabilia web sites. A race tire patch could cost you between $60 and $120, while a complete autographed tire would cost upwards of $1200. In fact, you’ll find cheaper ones in case you look far enough. eBay is your friend.

When you are planning to get used NASCAR tires in your expensive low cost Ferrari project automobile, that is gonna be a tall ask and never really useful, as NASCAR tires are designed for specific tracks and won’t work as well on the road or a non-public racetrack. Furthermore, used tires could have numerous wear and tear which, besides being unsafe, is not going to give you the performance you expect. Goodyear does offer Sports Automobile Special racing tires, which provide the look of a NASCAR race tire and can fit your project automobile higher.