Tire management a weighty factor for drivers, teams at Darlington

One of NASCAR's oldest tracks is another year older and so is its surface. It's why Goodyear Racing officials expect Sunday's Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to be a story of tire wear and strategy. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams will have an allotment of 13 sets of tires -- the most of any race on the schedule -- for the annual 500-miler (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) on the 1.366-mile track. The historic circuit was last repaved in the fall of 2007. Since then, the gritty, worn asphalt has aged in well, placing a premium on tire management. "The 'old,' high-wear Darlington is back," Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing, said in a release provided by the tiremaker. "For many years, Darlington had the most abrasive track surface on the circuit, but that all changed about 10 years ago when it was repaved. Slowly, over the past decade, the surface has become more and more abrasive and harder on tires again. "Going to Darlington now, with its throwback theme, seems highly appropriate now that we are back to a high tire wear/tire management race-style race that always seems to produce a great show for the fans." RELATED: Weekend schedule | Throwback designs Goodyear will also make its own contribution to NASCAR throwback weekend at Darlington, replacing its traditional yellow-lettered sidewalls for a vintage, white-stenciled look. Four drivers -- Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Daniel Suarez -- participated in a tire test at Darlington on June 5-6 to help Goodyear officials select the tire for this weekend. The left-side tire has an updated construction compared to last year's Darlington tire. The right-side rubber will have an updated compound to enhance grip. The Monster Energy Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will share the same tire set-up this weekend. Xfinity Series teams will have seven sets of tires allotted for the weekend, including a maximum of five for Saturday's 200-mile event, the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).