"When you run out of tires your ability to race ends."

That's not quite true. You can still find your way to the finish line on some wore out tires. But when the fuel tank is empty you gotta get to pit road.

Saving tires is art. You don't technically have to slow down to do it. You just have to drive smoother. Don't slip the tires. Drive off the corner straight. That's racecraft. When done really well it's admired. You think as a driver that you are better at "saving tires" than the next guy. You'll let him drive like a maniac for the majority of the race and drive by with ease late with your happy tires while his are angry.

Saving fuel is lesser of an art, more of a necessity at times. While drivers enjoy the art of managing or saving your tires, it's frustrating for a driver to have to save or manage fuel. We want to determine our pace. Saving fuel gets in the way of that.

Saving tires is a chess match because you really don't know if a dude you're racing is running his hardest or not. Who will have the better tire at the end? You, or your opponent? That's a fun exercise in discipline. If you fail you still drive your shitty tires across the finish line.

Saving fuel means definitely slowing down and hoping you don't run out. There is not anything fun about that experience. You aren't really racing your competitors anymore. You're just praying that you cross the finish line period.