NASCAR race cars have utilized a 15-inch diameter wheel for as long as I can remember. Even as street cars have gone more and more to larger stock wheels, NASCAR has stuck with their 15-inch wheel.
Now, a report from Kickin’ the Tires explains that NASCAR and Goodyear are looking to expand the size of their wheels in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series when the Gen7 race car hits the track in 2021.
“It is not just a tire change, it is the overall Gen 7 package that everybody is working on for 2021,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s Director of Racing in the report. “Part of the whole idea is to try to update the cars somewhat, make it a little bit more relevant to what you see on the street these days”
According to the report, it will most likely be an 18-inch wheel that will be used. That will put the Gen7 car more in line with modern OEM vehicles.
“If you look at cars on the street, you don’t see too many 15-inch wheel diameters anymore,” Stucker said. “So, we are looking at larger wheel diameters and our target is 18-inch.”
To read the entire report from Kickin’ The Tires, click here.
