For the third year in a row, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will see a different style of Hoosier racing tire rubber hit the track. The Hoosier F45*’s are being used in this year’s running.
One of the main traits the tire has is that once it gets hot it starts to blister, since typically, they do not lay a lot of rubber down. That can cause some issues, especially in a longer race like Martinsville. Another issue they have had in the past is discrepancies in the sets of tires. At some races this year, certain sets of tires have been worse than others and affected cars in a big way after they are bolted on.
After Friday practice at Martinsville for the biggest Late Model Stock race of the year, Short Track Scene caught up with several drivers to see how they felt about the F45*. Here is what they had to say.
Two time winner Lee Pulliam is back in back in the driver seat at Martinsville, and he felt pretty good about the tires after practice, in which he was fastest.
“Everything felt good,” Pulliam said. “We put that second set of tires on, and it had speed right there. It’s always a possibility [the tires have discrepancies]. It’s racing, you know. You got what you got, and you’re just going to make the best of it”
Peyton Sellers won the race in 2022 and won the Virginia Triple Crown last year. He feels like the tires might be an issue, but it is mostly unknown.
“We’ve definitely seen a little bit of difference in the tires when we bolted a new set on, but I don’t know that it was a deal-breaker,” Sellers said. “I think it was just the balance in our car, to be honest with you, so I’m not putting it on the tire yet. The tire seems to be wearing very well, though. We put a fair amount of laps on our first set, and it seemed to me the wear was very good on it.”
Connor Hall currently leads the Virginia Triple Crown standings and is looking to win his frist grandfather clock this weekend. He is feeling great about the tires.
“Good,” Hall said when asked how feels about the F45*’s. “Why are people complaining about them? It’s Late Model racing. I don’t know why I even asked. Mine are great. I think our number 88 Bass Pro Shop Camaro is going to be perfect.”
2023 race winner and Virginia Triple Crown winner Trevor Ward feels confident in the tire.
“No, absolutely not. There wasn’t a discrepancy,” Ward said. “It’s going to be a tire that lays a lot of rubber down, similar to the South Boston 200 when we ran earlier this year. You’ve got to keep the car turning good all night and keep that thing driving up off the corner. At the end of the day, this Harrison Chevy has been super fast all day, and I can’t complain.”
2021 winner Landon Pembelton was not able to finish practice after a transmission issue, but he felt like the tires were fine.
“A little bit,” Pembelton said when asked if he was worried about the tire. “We weren’t able to in practice because our transmission expired. But I think we’re going to be okay either way. When we unloaded on stickers, it should be okay.
“We didn’t wear much tire just looking at it myself, and we kind of looked over them, and wear looked pretty decent. But honestly, it’s just going to all come down to saving breaks.”
Veteran Ronnie Bassett Jr. felt like everything was good after practice.
“I feel like the tires are doing fine,” Bassett said. “We haven’t seen any issues thus far. And, honestly, the two sets we’ve had so far have been pretty close. So, if everything continues to go the way it’s going, I think we’ll be just fine.”
Kade Brown came close to winning the Virginia Triple Crown last year and was running good in the race. He ended practice in 13th and felt good about his car, and felt like the tires acted like the ST2’s last year.
“Really, it felt similar to the ST2’s we ran last year,” Brown said. “They had a ton of roll speed. I don’t know if they had as much grip pickup as F45*’s did, but I feel like these just naturally have pace. I’m very interested to see how they respond and how much it picks up going into the night. I feel like we got a well-balanced race car in the day, and we’re thinking about doing some adjustments to make it good going into the night, but we’ll see how this tire responds later.”
Brown does expect a little bit of difference in the sets, but he doesn’t believe it will be too bad, and they are approaching the race as they normally would.
“I’m really hoping the consistency is there,” Brown said. “I’m not one to like to blame tires, but there has been a little bit of it this year where we put a set on, and it’s been a little different. I wouldn’t say better or worse. It’s a little different. So the answer is yes.
“I think that will play a little bit of a difference if we make an adjustment, and the tires tend to change our balance one way or another, but I think for the most part, we’re just going to plan that everything’s the same.”
Carson Loftin is new to Late Model Stock racing, but he was top ten in practice. He is a little worried about the different sets changing the handling.
“You’ve got to run 125 laps the first section, the heat race and [the first 100 laps in the race], so I’m definitely a little worried about it because you’ve had some issues in the past,” Loftin said. “So, we’ll see if you can try to get the balance the best we can and hopefully keep the tires on it.”
Caden Kvapil is looking to repeat the win his brother Carson had at Martinsville last year. It is his first time at Martinsville in the Late Model, but he has a good notebook with JR Motorsports. He was surprised by the amount of tire wear.
“I’m not real sure to be honest,” Kvapil said. “We’ve been on two sets and both felt pretty normal. It felt like all year they’ve been better. I don’t think there will be many tire issues. It feels like the falloff is a little more than I thought. I’m not sure because I’ve never ran here before.
“It seems like you can run pretty good for a couple laps then it starts to slow down. That’s the only thing I’ve really noticed. Other than that I feel like the tires have been pretty consistent.”
Landon Huffman finished runner-up in the race in 2023 and showed good speed in practice. He felt like the tires didn’t lay down much rubber. His main worry is the tire blistering.
“They’re not wearing really,” Huffman said. “The tire feels the same. I like this tire a lot I think you’re probably going to see some pretty damn quick times tonight in qualifying but they’re going to get hot just like they always do. I don’t know if you’ll see blistering but I think it’s a real possibility so they feel good i just you know whoever can keep keep them from blistering will be good at the end.
“I’m not sure that the tire is wearing that much as it’s just getting hot. We see that at a lot of places, especially with this tire. It’s been a problem with blistering but not really tire wear.”
The only way to know is when the green flag flies on Saturday. FloRacing and the NASCAR channel on Tubi will have all the action live starting with the 25-lap qualifying races at 3 p.m. and the 200-lap main event at 7 p.m.
