How much money do NASCAR teams spend on tires annually? Exploring the costs behind the rubber

Being a participant in one of the most elite forms of motorsport, such as NASCAR, has its perks. However, not everything about it is hunky dory, as teams do have to spend an immense amount to ensure smooth running of everything, and this includes the cost of tires. NASCAR teams generally spend a mammoth amount behind the tires, but there's a catch.

According to multiple reports, a NASCAR tire can cost around $350 to $500. However, on a given weekend, a set of tires can cost a team around $2000 for a single car. Teams use a maximum of eight sets of tires on race weekends. This, in its entirety, sets the total budget of around $16,000, for one car, for one race weekend.

The current season has 39 races on its calendar. Multiplying $16,000 with 39 race weekends takes the amount to a staggering $624,000 for a single car, for an entire season. If a team has more than one car, the expenses get multiplied.

In the case of Hendrick Motorsports, which fields four cars on track in the Cup Series, the annual expenditure on tires can lead up to $2,496,000! The above-mentioned costs are based on a Cup Series team. However, the average cost per tire can be significantly low in lower series, such as the Xfinity or Truck Series.

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What is the CATCH in NASCAR tires?

NASCAR Xfinity Series SciAps 200: Parker Retzlaff, driver of the #31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Xfinity Series SciAps 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 22, 2024 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Reports suggest that the NASCAR teams do not purchase the tires. Instead, they lease from Goodyear on a weekend basis. Once the race weekend gets over, teams have to return all sets of tires of all compounds to Goodyear.

Additionally, the Cup Series cars have more choices for a set of tires. However, it's not the same for lower series as the options are often limited. The reason? To cut costs. Interestingly, the biggest cost for a team in terms of tires is not the used, but the unused ones.

As per Daily Downforce, Denny Hamlin claimed that teams do not get any refund for the tires they did not use throughout the season. As they cannot return the tire to Goodyear, the only tire giant in NASCAR, they are forced to accept the loss.

Furthermore, Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing, revealed that teams cannot afford to keep tires for future use as rubbers age over time, and subsequently change the compounds.

"We’re not going to want older tires because they do they age. Rubber ages, and it changes compounds. It’s funny, when you get older tires, that can really mess up car um, so it just goes to waste," Hamlin said.

Teams generally incur an average loss of $250,000 per car in unused tires, which further brings the entire cost to $1 million for a team such as Hendrick Motorsports.