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Aero Package, Tire Wear Set To Make Goodyear 400 One Of The Toughest Races Of 2026

by Hunter Thomas March 20, 2026 0 comments

DARLINGTON, SC – Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway is projected to be one of the most entertaining races of the season, and that’s coming straight from the drivers.

This year, NASCAR is running the Short Track Aerodynamic Package in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington. That means the cars will have 750 HP instead of 670 HP, and they’ll also feature much less downforce thanks to a three-inch rear spoiler, a simplified diffuser and reduced air pressure underneath the car. As a result, there will be aggressive tire falloff, and drivers will be slippin’ and slidin’ while trying to tame the Lady in Black.

“These cars, with essentially little to no underbody because we’re now going to the short track aerodynamic package for Darlington, these cars are out of control,” said five-time Darlington winner, Denny Hamlin. “I’m predicting four seconds of fall off, it might be more. It’s just the cars with the underbody taken off and that simple diffuser, just even on new tires, just absolutely out of control. So, it’s going to be a wild card race.”

Drivers are using phrases like “out-of-control” when referencing Sunday’s race and several believe the Goodyear 400 may be the hardest race of the year, not only because of the aero package but add a near 90-degree weather forecast, and the track will be even more slippery.

‘“It’s gonna be absolutely out of control,” Two-time Darlington winner Chase Briscoe said on Jeff Gluck’s ‘Gluckcast’ Podcast. “It’s gonna be I think the hardest track we run on all year long. The added power is one thing, but the biggest thing is taking the diffuser and everything off. I mean, I’ve ran the sim for probably a week-and-a-half and you are crashing every corner on every lap, even on new tires. … It is out of control. It’ll be very interesting in practice, qualifying, like, literally the whole weekend I think is gonna be must see. One team is gonna hit it right and they are gonna murder the field I feel like, just because of how drastically different this thing drives.”

Tire wear is going to be the name of the game, especially as the Goodyear 400 nears its closure. Heading into the weekend, teams will be allotted 12 sets of tires. They’ll have a set for practice, a set for qualifying and 10 sets for the race. Will teams sacrifice track position early on in order to save a set of tires? What’s the latest a team would want to wait to put on their last set? The decisions made atop the pit box on Sunday will be absolutely vital and some drivers may be forced to just deal with a poorly executed strategy.

“My eyes are wide open,” Two-time Darlington winner Brad Keselowski said. “The biggest thing I’m thinking about at Darlington is to go 50 laps on a set of tires was almost impossible with the Next Gen car in the last two or three seasons, and now that we have more horsepower and less aero, I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to go 35 laps. So, keeping up with the tires is going to be a big challenge. The drivers managing it, the teams putting our setups to where it can do it. Darlington is going to be a heavy lift. It’s always a heavy lift, but it’s a heavier lift now, I think, with these circumstances and a lot of unknowns entering the race at Darlington. It might turn out no different, but I don’t think that will be the case. I think it’s gonna be a really difficult race.”

No matter what decisions teams make, fans are guaranteed an incredible show on Sunday. With Darlington Raceway serving as the host for the sixth points race of the season, teams are now settling in for a points run for the NASCAR Chase. This year, every finish matters and a season can become greatly crippled by the track, Too Tough To Tame.

The Goodyear 400 will broadcast live on FS1 on Sunday, March 22, at 3 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com