Goodyear Tires Notes / Fast Facts
Tire: Goodyear Eagle Speedway Radials
Set limits: 6 sets for practice/qualifying and 10 sets for the race
Tire Codes: Left-side — D-4556; Right-side — D-4476
Tire Circumference:
Left-side — 87.40 in. (2,220 mm); Right-side — 88.27 in. (2,242 mm)
Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front — 26 psi; Left Rear — 26 psi;
Right Front — 36 psi; Right Rear — 36 psi
Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear — 20 psi;
Right Front — 42 psi; Right Rear — 38 psi
Notes: While teams in both NASCAR series in action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will run the same right-side tire code (D-4476), they will be on distinct left-side codes . . . Sprint Cup teams have run this right-side tire at Indianapolis since 2012 . . . compared to last year, Cup teams will be on a different left-side tire code (D-4556), though they have run it at both Dover and Kentucky earlier this season . . . another change from last year is an increase in the minimum recommended air pressure in all four tires — up four psi in the left-side tires and up five psi in the right-side tires . . . this tire set-up came out of a Goodyear test at The Brickyard on June 16-17 . . . drivers/teams participating in that test were Greg Biffle in the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, Clint Bowyer in the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Joey Logano in the No. 22 Penske Racing Ford, Ryan Newman in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet. . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams will run inner liners in all four tire positions at Indianapolis . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Coverage Rolls Out at Indianapolis:
ESPN begins its coverage of the final 17 races of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with a live, flag-to-flag telecast of the Brickyard 400 at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 27. The telecast from Indianapolis is presented by Golden Corral and begins with the NASCAR Countdown pre-race show at 12:00noon/et from the Speedway’s iconic Pagoda. The program will set up the race with interviews and features before the 1:19pm/et green flag. In addition, ESPN will televise NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying on Saturday, July 26, at 2:00pm/et and ESPN2 will air NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Saturday at 9:00am/et.
Also from Indianapolis, ESPN will televise the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, with NASCAR Countdown at 4:00pm/et and the green flag at 4:50pm/et. All NASCAR programming from Indy is available on WatchESPN and both races air live in Canada on TSN.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be ESPN In-Race Reporter for the Brickyard 400 while Chase Elliott will do the same for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. The drivers will speak with ESPN analyst Dale Jarrett on the race’s pace laps and during caution periods, bringing viewers the added perspective of a driver competing in the race.
For the Brickyard 400, ESPN will use 75 high definition cameras including four new overhead pit cameras that are equipped with robotic heads for different and varying points of view of pit stops and the track.
Also in use will be four Ultra Hi Motion cameras for replays and unique action shots. One will be mounted on pit wall near the “Yard of Bricks” that make up the start/finish line at the Speedway while another robotic Ultra Hi Motion camera will be mounted to provide a low shot in the first turn. Two others will be in the second and fourth turns. Eight cars competing in the race will carry onboard cameras and ESPN also will have a helicopter camera for overhead shots in the Brickyard 400 and for all 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup race telecasts.
Among the features that will be presented on various ESPN platforms surrounding the Brickyard 400:
20 years of Bricks — The first Brickyard 400 was in 1994 and was won by Jeff Gordon. A look back at what it meant for NASCAR to finally race at the Brickyard and how it helped transform NASCAR from a regional to a national sport. Drivers, owners, media and others offer comments.
Professor Ray: Home Team Hendrick - Former ESPN NASCAR analyst Ray Evernham, who now works for Hendrick, reviews film to break down why the team is so good at the Brickyard. He was Jeff Gordon’s crew chief when Gordon won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994.
Dale Jr and Graham Rahal National Guard - NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr and Verizon IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal go for a crash course in training from their sponsor, the National Guard.
ESPN’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Coverage: Fourteen of the final 17 races will air live on ESPN while the three Saturday night races on the schedule will air on ABC. Three former NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, including two NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers, will be an integral part of ESPN’s coverage team for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, including lead analyst Dale Jarrett, the 1999 driving champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, who will work with two-time champion crew chief Andy Petree and lap-by-lap announcer Allen Bestwick in the booth.
NASCAR Countdown will feature analysis by 1989 champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Rusty Wallace with host Nicole Briscoe and additional analysis from NASCAR team owner Brad Daugherty. The Countdown team will interact with the booth during the race telecasts.
Pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.
Beginning Sept. 14 at Chicagoland Speedway, the final 10 races will comprise the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s playoffs to determine the series champion. This year’s Chase will feature a new four-stage elimination format culminating Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
For the 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, ESPN will again utilize NASCAR NonStop, a split-screen commercial break format that brings more racing action to viewers. The format, which ESPN used for the first time in 2011, shows the advertisement on the left side of the screen and a continuation of racing action on the right side. ESPN’s scoring ticker continues to move across the top of the screen, allowing NASCAR fans to follow the running order of the race during the breaks. NASCAR NonStop takes effect at or near the halfway point of the race, with the first half of the race presented in the traditional commercial break format.(ESPN)