How Much Does a Tire Cost for a NASCAR Race Car?

A NASCAR Cup Series race tire typically costs about $500 in 2024, making a four-tire set roughly $2,000. Teams lease tires from Goodyear for each event and return them afterward. Depending on the track and strategy, a team’s tire bill for a single race can range from around $20,000 to more than $40,000.

What Teams Actually Pay—and How It Works

In NASCAR’s top series, teams don’t “buy” tires outright; they lease Goodyear Eagle racing tires at a set per-tire price determined with NASCAR. The fee includes trackside service and mounting/balancing support throughout the weekend. Tires are barcoded and strictly controlled, and teams must return them after competition. Because wear rates and race distances vary, the total spend swings by event—short, abrasive tracks and endurance races drive higher usage than superspeedways.

Current Price Ranges by Series

The following list outlines the going ballpark prices across NASCAR’s national series, with the Cup Series representing the highest per-tire cost due to the Next Gen spec and 18-inch wheel/tire package.

Cup Series (Next Gen, 18-inch Goodyear Eagle): about $500 per tire, roughly $2,000 per four-tire set; event-to-event variation can place the per-tire figure in the ~$450–$550 range.

Xfinity Series: generally lower than Cup, often in the ~$350–$450 per-tire range depending on event and allocation.

Craftsman Truck Series: typically comparable to or slightly below Xfinity, reflecting different tire specs and event structures.

While exact invoices vary by venue and allocation, this range captures what teams plan for when budgeting rubber across a season.

How Many Sets Teams Use—and What That Means in Dollars

Set allocations and wear profiles drive the total tire bill. Here’s how usage typically breaks down by track type, and what that implies for costs in the Cup Series.

Short tracks and high-wear ovals (e.g., Darlington, Richmond): 10–12 sets per car is common; at ~$2,000 per set, that’s roughly $20,000–$24,000 or more.

Intermediate 1–1.5 mile ovals: 9–12 sets; approximately $18,000–$24,000+.

Endurance events (e.g., Coca-Cola 600): often up to 13–14 sets; about $26,000–$28,000+.

Road courses: 6–8 sets; roughly $12,000–$16,000.

Superspeedways (Daytona, Talladega): 4–6 sets due to lower wear; about $8,000–$12,000.

These ranges can shift with cautions, strategy, and track conditions; multiple late-race stops can increase usage, while long green-flag runs can reduce it.

What the Tire Price Includes—and What It Doesn’t

The per-tire fee covers more than rubber. Here’s a snapshot of what’s bundled and what teams still handle independently.

Included: the tire lease itself; Goodyear trackside service; mounting and balancing; barcode tracking and quality control.

Not included: wheels, nitrogen/air systems, tire warmers (not used in NASCAR), storage/transport, and any team-specific tire data systems or personnel.

This structure standardizes the competition tire while leaving teams to manage the logistics and analytics around how they use it.

Why the Price Can Vary

Several factors can nudge the per-tire price and total event spend up or down over the season.

Compound and construction updates: Goodyear and NASCAR may adjust specs for safety and performance, which can influence costs.

Event allocation and rules: The number of sets allowed for practice, qualifying, and the race directly determines spend.

Supply chain and materials: Fluctuations in raw materials, manufacturing, and transportation can affect pricing year to year.

Track abrasiveness and weather: Surface characteristics and temperatures drive wear rates, impacting how many sets a team uses.

Teams budget with a baseline per-tire figure but plan contingencies for high-wear weekends or rule changes that alter allocations.

Bottom Line

Expect about $500 per tire for a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2024—roughly $2,000 per set—with per-race totals commonly between $20,000 and $40,000 depending on the track and strategy. Other national series run slightly cheaper per tire, but the same cost drivers apply. Over a season, tires remain one of a team’s most significant recurring race-weekend expenses.

How many tires do NASCAR drivers get per race?

NASCAR teams typically receive between 9 to 14 sets of tires per race weekend, with the exact number determined by Goodyear and NASCAR based on the track type, length, and race conditions. These new tires are a crucial component of a team’s strategy, as they provide the necessary grip and performance for competition.
Factors influencing the number of tires allotted:

Track Type & Length: Different tracks require different tire compounds and durability, affecting the number of sets needed.
Practice & Qualifying: A portion of the tire allotment is used during practice sessions and the qualifying rounds before the main race.
Race Conditions: Factors like weather and the specific needs of a particular track can influence the number of tires a team can use.
Team Strategy: While teams are given an allotment, the number of tires a team ultimately uses can vary based on their strategy and performance during the race, with teams potentially going through 9 to 14 sets by the end of the race.

What happens to the used tires:

Recycling: Used NASCAR tires are recycled and repurposed into materials like rubber mulch or asphalt.
Souvenirs: For a more personal touch, some tires are also sold to fans as souvenirs.

How much do NASCAR tires cost?

They claim that teams spend as much as $20,000 on tires for a given weekend. The overall estimated budget for tires for a single car is $720,000 according to Sportskeeda, which means multi-car teams budget between $1.4-2.8 Million per year on tires.

How much do race tires cost?

While true racing tires used in Formula 1 and other types of races would cost you around $2,000 per set, R-compound legal racing tires are more affordable (around $800).

What happens to NASCAR tires after a race?

After a NASCAR race, used tires are returned to Goodyear for analysis and inspection, with wear patterns studied to improve future tire development. The majority of the tires are then sent to Liberty Tire Recycling to be turned into rubber mulch, tire-derived fuel, or crumb rubber for asphalt and playgrounds. Some tires are also sold as fan souvenirs, or are used to construct tire pack barriers on certain racetracks.

Analysis

After the race, tire specialists collect the tires from each car.
They are returned to Goodyear’s Research and Development Center for inspection and wear pattern analysis.
This data is used by engineers to develop better tires for future races and tracks.

Recycling

NASCAR partners with Liberty Tire Recycling for its tire recycling program.
The tires are ground into smaller pieces to be used in various applications, including:
- Rubber mulch: Used in landscaping to prevent soil erosion, according to Yahoo! Autos.
- Rubberized asphalt: Used in building roads and parking lots, including NASCAR’s own racetracks.
- Tire-derived fuel: Burned in kilns and boilers at concrete and paper mills.

Other Uses

Fan souvenirs: Some used tires are sold directly to fans.
Tire pack barriers: Race tracks themselves may reuse tires to create barriers for impact zones, a practice that has been ongoing since at least 2024.