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Inside NASCAR’s ‘Brake Pad Splitting’ Trick at Phoenix

NASCAR limits custom parts in the Next Gen era, so teams exploit what’s open—brake pads. “Splitting” means mixing compounds on different corners of the car to slow wheels at varying rates, fine-tuning balance and turn-in. It’s crucial at Phoenix’s asymmetric layout ahead of the championship finale, but risky too. It's known to have caused catastrophic brake failures during past races.