A Monster Energy Nascar Challenge

[Eli's Gone]

The consensus in the garage is that certain teams have been drilling minute holes in the tires to bleed off air pressure as it builds throughout a tire run. By maintaining consistent air pressure, it’s easier to maintain the balance of the car.

There has been rampant speculation that some teams might be poking tiny holes in their tires to “bleed” the air and maintain an optimum level of pressure, which prevents a dropoff in speed as pressure builds (and lessen traction) during the course of a green-flag run.

The theory revolves around simple physics: air expands as it heats up, and when a tire gets too hot, it bubbles the tire tread outward in a most unfortunate way. This rounded, bubbled out hot tire then doesn't have as much contact with the track itself as it would if it were a properly inflated tire. Think a flat surface (when properly inflated) that becomes rounded off (when overheated) in terms of what's touching the track itself. Hot tires produce what drivers often describe as "greasy" feeling tires, although no one's never greased up Brad Keselowski and sent him down the track banking to test out this comparison. Overheated tires just lose grip to me. Less grip = less control, plain and simple.