NASCAR never could have expected the type of tire wear it saw at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday. The drivers started the race by running 30 to 40 laps before the tires would fall off a cliff and gradually increased to at least 50 laps near the end. It was shocking to see the cars falling out of nowhere and losing seconds per lap.
During the Final Stage, Goodyear racing director Greg Stucker talked to the media about the tire wear. Stucker was surprised to see the type of tire wear but acknowledged that it was a concern before the NASCAR Truck Series race on Saturday night.
“It’s still a bit of an unknown as far as why it’s not behaving the same…that being the racetrack,” Stucker said. “But that’s kind of what we know now. Obviously, everybody is kind of in the same boat but some guys are able to manage through it a little bit better than others. It’s still a tough situation, and we’re going to have to try and understand exactly what’s happening, what’s different, and adjust from there.”
Denny Hamlin wins at Bristol! pic.twitter.com/rbyPIaUS31
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 17, 2024
“Everybody got together and expressed concern, but we decided to wait and see what happened with the [NASCAR Truck Series] race. The truck race went exactly like we expected it to. It put rubber down immediately, tire wear was in line with what we have historically seen, so it’s a little bit unclear as to why we’re not seeing that same thing today.”
It was surprising, but Denny Hamlin was glad to be racing as he won his first event of the 2024 NASCAR season. Goodyear must determine why the tires worked in the Truck Series but not the NASCAR Cup Series. The rubber must lie on the track to balance zero and extreme tire wear. Yet, NASCAR was undoubtedly pleased with the racing and thought it was one of the best short-track races ever.
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