Joey Logano describes challenge of 'Option' tire at Richmond: 'Wait and see'

Like the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series field, Joey Logano has been resting up during the Olympic break and preparing for Richmond. This weekend the Cook Out 400 will feature the “Option” and “Prime” tires that were used at North Wilkesboro.

The idea, like other motorsports, is that one tire is softer and one harder. You can gamble on a soft tire that gives you speed, but wears out quicker. Or you can stay on the tried and true tires you know are going to stand up to the rough asphalt.

Joey Logano knows that it will be challenging. Good news is, Paul Wolfe can do all the math. Logano just has to drive the car.

“The first challenge, or the first answer everybody wants to know, is how much faster is [the softer tire] and how much does it last?” Logano told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “Is it just faster the whole run, like we’ve seen the option tire up to this point or is it going to actually fall off harder?

“When you look at [North] Wilkesboro when we did that, you had a track that just has no fall off, so it was just faster the whole time. Not to be surprised. But Richmond is a place where it wears out tires. It could be different there, and none of us will know until we get there. I don’t know. We’ll have to kind of wait and see.”

NASCAR wants to fix the short track racing. Passing has to increase or there will have to be major changes made to the overall platform. Tires and horsepower are the quickest way to fix these things.

Joey Logano and team figuring out ‘Option’ tires

Joey Logano is going into the Cook Out 400 with as much information as any other driver. These tires are going to be a big experiment. Other forms of racing use various tire compounds, and now NASCAR is joining the party.

If the tires don’t fall off, then you have a problem. When drivers are on those red “Option” tires, they should be passing those on “Prime” tires. However, we won’t know until we know. At North Wilkesboro, the “Option” tires wore down to a point, but then held onto the same pace as the regular tires.

So, it is a crapshoot. The weather will be a factor. Racing at night, temperatures could cool down causing rubber to shred to bits instead of being put into the track, offering more grip. Think about the Bristol race, the temps were cool and tires were ripped apart.

With two different kinds of tires, drivers and teams have more strategy options. That is good for fans and good for NASCAR. Joey Logano is hoping the tires don’t ruin his great results at Richmond, his average finish is inside the top-10 in his career.