The Goodyear 400 is a special NASCAR Cup Series race as it pays tribute to the drivers and cars of yesterday. And now it looks like Goodyear will be part of the race for a long time as it announced this week it is renewing its entitlement sponsorship of the Goodyear 400, which is NASCAR’s Offical Throwback Weekend Cup Series race. Goodyear is the “Official Tire of NASCAR” and has been associated with the league for 68 years.
“Our entitlement sponsorship of the Goodyear 400 represents a continuation of our six-decade commitment to NASCAR through tire innovation and allows us to celebrate the sport’s storied history and talented drivers of today,” said Karen Maroli, Goodyear’s vice president of Marketing. “NASCAR’s Official Throwback Weekend is always a highly-anticipated stop on the circuit, and alongside Darlington Raceway, we look forward to providing race fans with an unforgettable experience.”
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The Goodyear 400 will take place at Darlington Raceway on May 8. Fans will get to witness the drivers’ nostalgic paint schemes honoring former drivers and memorable stock cars. Also, Goodyear will sport a vintage sidewall design on its Eagle race tires, last used during the 1980-1992 Cup Series race seasons.
“From the paint schemes to the historic track and throwback tire design, few races capture NASCAR’s tradition like the Goodyear 400,” said Kerry Tharp, president of Darlington Raceway. “As NASCAR’s longest-running continuous partner, Goodyear is uniquely woven into the fabric of the sport and is an ideal partner for our Official Throwback Weekend.”
Darlington Raceway is located in Darlington South Carolina and is nicknamed the “The Lady in Black.” In last year’s Goodyear 400, Martin Truex Jr. won the race and it helped him earn a playoff spot. This year, Truex is ranked seventh in the Cup Series standings, so another strong performance at the Goodyear 400 could give him a spot in the playoffs again. But Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series Champion, is ranked first in the standings and has not performed his best yet as he has not won a race this season.
“I think we’ve had pace at times,” Elliott exclusively told PopCulture earlier this month. “I think the successful part of it has been we’ve had a good balance and been able to be fast at certain points throughout a race. I think the not-so-good side of it is we just haven’t been able to put a whole race together yet. It seems like we’ll either be strong at one point, not so strong at another. Just need to put a whole event together and I think we’ll be fine.
