AVONDALE, Ariz. – Unseasonably warm temperatures at the start time for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship race could cause problems from crew chiefs and their drivers.
“Yeah, for sure, it’s going to heat the tires up,” said Rudy Fugle, crew chief for Championship 4 driver William Byron. “With as much downforce on the car when the tires get hot, you’re going to lose control and the cars are going to lose handling a whole lot quicker into the run.
“Tires get overheated, say Lap 40, (and with) more downforce, it’s going to be Lap 25. It just speeds up the ill handling and how the cars change over the run.
“It will be pretty big, as warm as it is. It’s probably seven, eight degrees ambient warmer than it normally is this time of year. We’ll definitely be dealing with that.”
Source: Reid Spencer | NASCAR Wire Service
