Sunday Setup: Temperature swings, tire loads highlight Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Midwest is known for its four-season weather, and NASCAR teams are experiencing a range of conditions this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Saturday's practice session for Sunday's AdventHealth 400 (2 p.m. ET, FOX, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) was held under a cool, crisp, windy fall layer. The green flag on Sunday is expected to be 15 to 20 degrees warmer, more akin to the current spring season. That ambient temperature differential could lead to cars handling completely differently from practice to the race. Naturally, the track is going to be slicker when heated up. Teams expect Sunday to be more of an offset than the weekend, where there is little change in temperature. RELATED: Starting lineup | Paint Scheme Preview "I think understanding your car balance today versus what you will have tomorrow," Paul Wolfe, crew chief of the No. 22 car told NASCAR.com on Saturday. "Some of the things you have to pay attention to besides just your balance -- we work hard to get the cars as low as possible. You hear guys talking about being on the limiters, and as you have big changes in pace, you will have to take that into account if you're going to change your ride heights into tomorrow to compensate." Goodyear tires will be of the utmost importance during race conditions, too. The current tire compound, designed to be more durable, debuted last fall at Kansas. Two of the three Penske cars, including Joey Logano, had tire cording issues during practice on Saturday. Adjusting air pressure is part of the process, but solidifying camber settings and nailing the ride heights correctly also influence the durability of the tire. As Wolfe noted: "Once you're on the limiter, you're solid -- there is no give in suspension at that point, so all of that load is being transferred through the sidewall of the tire and that's where we see the issues and the blowouts." "I think everyone is pushing that part of it so hard because there is performance there," Wolfe added. "Goodyear has done a lot of testing, and we give them data from our cars, and they will do in-house testing, and we've even seen through some of the testing that you could test 10 tires, and six of them could be fine, but four of them won't. That is the takeaway from us as we continue to move forward and get all we can get, one run without a blowout doesn't guarantee that it's a safe zone." Regardless, the racing action is almost guaranteed to be a certified banger. In this race two years ago, Kyle Larson nosed ahead of Chris Buescher at the start/finish line by 0.001 seconds, the closest finish in Cup Series history. Last fall, Toyota teammates Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace made contact through the final set of corners, allowing Chase Elliott to snag the victory. MORE: Fantasy Fastlane Kansas could be considered among the raciest intermediate venues on the schedule, according to most measures. With the high lane preferred, some believe it's getting similar to Homestead-Miami Speedway. "I think just the weather over time weathers the track and we're at a point on the repave where it's gotten gritty, grimy, dusty, and they slide all over the place," Jim Pohlman, crew chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Kyle Busch, said. "The aggregate has finally opened up, and it's become more like a Homestead." Tyler Reddick aced the field in the cooler conditions on Saturday, with his Busch Light pole-winning speed being more than 1.5 mph quicker than last spring's fast lap.