Word has escaped that NASCAR and Goodyear will be testing a 17 inch tire today at Richmond International Speedway. In addition to the increased wheel diameter, the tire is also 1.5 inches wider.

First, there was the talk of fuel injection and now the talk of using “big” rims, what’ll the old guys say? Like all tire tests the results will be kept very quiet, and if they work that well, the new tires will probably be put into use next neason.

Just think, if they do upgrade the wheel size, that means the cars on the track will actually have something in common with a production vehicle. Besides the headlight stickers anway.