NASCAR entered Martinsville Speedway looking to improve upon the racing the NextGen car has provided since 2022. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much change as drivers struggled to pass other competitors, and the tires didn’t wear as much as in previous seasons. [autotag]Joey Logano[/autotag] was one driver who saw this happen as he took two tires and led most of Stage 2.
On Tuesday, Logano jumped on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and talked about the tires and short-track racing after Martinsville. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is concerned like everyone else and wants the sport to make significant changes.
“Bristol was good because the tire came apart,” Logano said “And that was good. Richmond and Martinsville, gosh, we got to swing the bat. We’ve got to do something big to fix it. I hate saying it, but we’re not an aero package away anymore. We’ve tried that. We’ve hit that button a few times. We’ve got to do something to make the tires fall off. I get it. Listen, here’s the deal, Goodyear has built a tire that is too good.”
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“If you’re looking to buy a tire on the street. That’s the tire you want. You want the tire that is going to last forever…But that’s not what we want as racers. It’s a fine line. Think about it. If you are Goodyear and the storyline is these tires are coming apart or they’re wearing out quickly, well, then you would say, ‘I don’t want to put that on my car.’ We have to somehow separate our street wants versus our racecar wants.”
Bristol was unpredictable because the tires did not lay rubber on the track and were wearing very quickly. Obviously, NASCAR and Goodyear shouldn’t push to that extreme with the tires, but changes need to happen. Martinsville and Richmond are historically good tracks, and the NextGen car has turned them into shells of their former self.
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