Tag: Bristol

Kyle Larson sounds off on NASCAR fans’ reaction to unpopular Bristol race

After many fans criticized the quality of the Bristol night race, Kyle Larson shared his perspective on the event.

Kyle Larson closed out the first round of the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs with one of the most dominant victories in the history of Hendrick Motorsports, as he led 462 laps on Saturday night and was never seriously challenged for the win.

Short track races in the Next Gen car have been extremely hit-or-miss, but aside from Larson fans, many viewers were less than impressed with the Bristol night race – especially when compared to the wild spring race we saw at the same track.

Back in March, Goodyear tires wore out completely after around 50 laps, leading to plenty of green-flag pit stops and several tire-related cautions. To NASCAR’s surprise, tires weren’t a factor at all in the night race, with Elton Sawyer telling SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he was “baffled” by the outcome.

With tire wear out of the picture, track position was the most important factor in the race, and several drivers complained afterward that passing was near-impossible.

The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck conducted a post-race poll for several years, asking fans to vote on whether a race was good or not. Only 27.2 percent of fans who voted said that the 2024 Bristol night race was good, which ranks last in the 19 total Bristol races that Gluck has conducted a poll for, and second-to-last among all short track races in the same period.

Larson responded to the results on Twitter and wrote that if there had been a green-white-checkered finish, far more fans would have called it a good race.

On Tuesday, Larson shared a deeper reflection of the Bristol night race and wrote that fans shouldn’t be blaming Goodyear for the results of the race. According to Larson, what we saw on Saturday wasn’t all that different from the Bristol races of the past, and the real issue is the Next Gen car.

 

“From what I remember in my career before the Next Gen car was we had cars with some disparity that could run closer to one another in traffic and a wheel/tire combo that got hotter which in essences gave us less grip on the long run. I’ve ran with 900hp all the way down to 650hp or less potentially, high downforce, low downforce and everything in between.

Bristol’s ALWAYS been tough to pass. Speed on pit road and most likely there’s a good chance you’re going a lap down on the next run. That’s the way it is and has been for a very long time.

We had more natural cautions from wrecks because cars could run closer and we never quite made it a full fuel run because eventually someone’s RF tire would explode from overheating.

I’m not saying I want tires to explode again but we’re trying to crutch this race car on short tracks with the tire and then blame Goodyear every week cause cars can’t pass.

I don’t have the answer to fix what we currently have and neither do you but please stop blaming Goodyear. It’s not a tire problem.

And also, have any of you ran around Bristol with or without PJ1? Or resin for that matter. Yeah that’s right… so 🤐

Temper your expectations. We’re driving spec race cars.”

 

Suarez advances after surviving miserable weekend at Bristol

Daniel Suarez did not enjoy his Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway and it was the first thing he told his Trackhouse Racing team after the checkered flag. “That wasn’t fun,” Suarez said. Stats don’t lie – Suarez started 31st, was lapped for …

Daniel Suarez did not enjoy his Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway and it was the first thing he told his Trackhouse Racing team after the checkered flag.

“That wasn’t fun,” Suarez said.

Stats don’t lie — Suarez started 31st, was lapped for the first time on lap 63, finished the first and second stages in 30th and finished the race in 31st place, multiple laps down.

Amazingly, he advanced in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs by 11 points. He could even laugh about it afterward.

“I knew since [Friday] – I didn’t want to say it – when we unloaded for first practice, that we didn’t have the speed,” Suarez said. “We practiced bad, we qualified bad, and we raced the same way. We were able to make the car a little bit better; we were just not fast enough. Luckily, things worked out right there and we were able to build a good cushion in Atlanta and Watkins Glen, but it was not ideal.”

Fortunately, Suarez had a 36-point advantage on the cutline going into the postseason’s first elimination race. The cushion came through a second-place finish at Atlanta and a 13th-place finish at Watkins Glen, plus 14 stage points earned.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Suarez, who admitted early in the weekend that he loves the half-mile Bristol facility, has struggled on its concrete. The last time he finished in the top 10 at Bristol was in 2019. His best finish while driving for Trackhouse Racing has been an 18th-place result earlier this year.

“I can only control so much,” Suarez said. “I have to control what I can control, and the only thing I could control was the steering wheel of the No. 99. I knew I was racing with [Ty Gibbs]; I raced him very, very hard and everyone else I raced pretty easy. I was only concerned with what I could control.”

It wasn’t a fun way to race, he admitted, but it was necessary. Despite being laps down to the leader, Suarez had to be kept abreast of not only where Gibbs was running, but also who, of the cars on the same lap, he needed to pass for the points at stake. Every time the leader came back around to put Suarez another lap down, he did his best to put up a fight until no longer capable.

“Once I started holding off [Gibbs] and everyone started catching us, and then people started passing him and I was letting them go, I knew I was going to be in a good spot,” he said.

Suarez goes into the Round of 12 sitting 10th on the playoff grid, six points below a transfer spot.

Larson trounces Cup Series field in first elimination race at Bristol

It was a story of absolute domination on the part of Kyle Larson, who led 462 of 500 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and won Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race by 7.088s over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. Larson’s advance to the …

It was a story of absolute domination on the part of Kyle Larson, who led 462 of 500 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and won Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race by 7.088s over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.

Larson’s advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs was hardly in doubt, but the vicissitudes of the elimination race were unkind to Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton, who are no longer eligible to compete for the series championship.

Sweeping both stages in front of a massive crowd on a near-perfect night, Larson set a record for laps led in a single race by a Hendrick Motorsports driver. He has now led 1,351 laps at Bristol, his most at a single track.

No driver has led as many laps in a victory at Bristol since Cale Yarborough led 495 in 1977.

The victory was Larson’s second at the 0.533-mile track, his series-best fifth of the season and the 28th of the career. He enters the Round of 12 as the top seed, as the series moves to Kansas Speedway for the Sept. 29 Hollywood Casino 400.

“Man, that was just great execution all weekend by the team,” Larson said. “Practiced good. You’ve got to qualify good; we did that. Yeah, just had a great car. Thanks to the whole No. 5 team. They’re the best in the business.

“We dominate a lot of races, but we might not close them all out, so it feels really good to close one out here in this Hendrickcars.com Chevy. We’ve got (team owner) Rick Hendrick here today, too. He hasn’t been to many races this year…

“Just a phenomenal car, could kind of manage my stuff and then really pass some cars there at the end.”

Unfortunately for Gibbs and Truex, Saturday night’s race also was the story of crippling penalties. Gibbs was flagged for speeding on pit road during the first stage break and spent the rest of the race fighting his way toward the front.

By lap 500, however, Gibbs had worn out his right rear tire, finished 15th and lost the final Round of 12 position to Daniel Suarez and Chase Briscoe by 11 points.

“Speeding penalty is on me,” Gibbs said. “You run the lights so close … it’s my fault. Unfortunate.”

Entering the race 14 points below the cut line, Truex ran fourth in the first stage and second in Stage 2, but the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota sped on pit road during the fifth and final caution and finished 24th, 21 points short of advancing to the Round of 12.

“We did good in the first two stages—we got a lot of points,” said Truex, who will retire from full-time Cup racing at the end of the season. “I guess we would have had to run second or third to make it through. Who knows if we would have been able to. I wish we could have seen if we could have done that.

“I’m just gutted for my team. We worked so hard this week. We all put in a lot all season long, and in the last three weeks, just snake-bit. Can’t do anything right … 0.09mph (over the pit road speed tolerance) hurts really bad to take the chance away to know if we even could have done it. I don’t know if we could have run second … maybe. We were close to it all day, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. I feel terrible for my guys.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Non-Playoff driver Bubba Wallace finished third on Saturday night, followed by Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and defending series champion Ryan Blaney, all of whom secured spots in the Round of 12.

Hamlin entered the race six points below the cut line but maintained a presence in the top five all race long.

“My aspirations were to win it, but it looked like the No. 5 (Larson) there was better than all of us,” Hamlin said. “Solid car. I thought we were really good towards the middle of the stages, and then at the end, got too loose and couldn’t hang onto what we had.

“Overall, top-five day, good stage points, kind of in the mix, just not really as good as we’ve been here the last few times. But overall, I want to thank this whole FedEx Toyota team for giving me something I can move on with.”

Ryan Preece ran seventh, trailed by Briscoe and pole winner Alex Bowman, who was locked into the next Playoff round after finishing seventh in Stage 2. Austin Cindric (13th Saturday), William Byron (17th), Tyler Reddick (20th) and Joey Logano (28th) also were among the 12 drivers to advance.

Logano already had secured his spot with a victory in the Playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Larson took charge early, passing Bowman for the lead on lap 33. Adroitly working traffic as the first 125-lap stage progressed, Larson lapped three Playoff drivers in succession—Suarez on lap 64, Burton on lap 86 and Keselowski of lap 104.

Bowman led a lap under caution during the first stage break, but Larson had the top spot back out of the pits one circuit later and continued to assert his authority in Stage 2. Suarez lost a second lap to the leader on lap 194, putting his Playoff future in dire peril—temporarily.

Burton suffered the same fate on lap 207, all but assuring his elimination. His fate was sealed when he took his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford to the garage on lap 235 to repair a power steering issue.

 

Gibbs’ penalty was the saving grace for Suarez, who finished 31st, four laps down but was able to move on.

“It was a struggle,” Suarez acknowledged. “Since yesterday when we unloaded the car for first practice, we just didn’t have the speed. As you know, with a short amount of practice, qualifying, and going to the race, if you don’t have speed out of the trailer, it’s very, very difficult to bring it back to speed.

“We made it better, but it wasn’t good enough. We were running 30th, 28th, 32nd all night long, and that’s what we had. Luckily, we had a great Atlanta (a runner-up finish), decent Watkins Glen after a broken wheel, and we were able to build a cushion, and we definitely used every single point out of that cushion.”

Interestingly, the rapid tire fall-off that exerted a profound influence over this year’s spring race at Thunder Valley was a non-factor on Saturday. Before the race, after consultation with the drivers, NASCAR opted to spray PJ1 traction compound on the bottom two feet of the track.

RESULTS

Hamlin gets back on track with fifth at Bristol and advances

It was the run Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart needed Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway to advance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but not the one the duo wanted. “I’ll be honest with you … call me what you want, but my first emotion is …

It was the run Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart needed Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway to advance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, but not the one the duo wanted.

“I’ll be honest with you … call me what you want, but my first emotion is I’m mad we didn’t win at my favorite track,” Gabehart said with a laugh. “When I tell you this race means more to me than the playoffs, I mean it, and if we come here and put on a winning performance, the points take care of themselves.”

Hamlin, who was not only the defending race winner but won the spring race at Bristol, crossed the finish line fourth in the Bass Pro Shops night race. The finish and nine stage points Hamlin earned propelled him back above the cutline to advance into the second round of the postseason by 15 points.

“I wish we could have won,” Gabehart continued. “However, we didn’t have the margin that [Kyle] Larson or [Christopher] Bell or some of those other guys had to let it all hang out here, which is what we have to do with 200 to go to win this race. I so wish everybody understood how hard it is to do what you’re watching out there. At this level, you cannot give 99 percent. It’s not enough.

“To race from a deficit, and the last 200 [you] have to not lose what you’ve earned rather than have this big buffer to be able to risk it — that’s the difference. You look at the guys who finished up front: Larson had a buffer, Elliott had a buffer, Bubba Wallace is not racing for anything. It’s just a different world. I’m thrilled to move on. I want to win Bristol.”

Having started eighth, Hamlin described it as a night of slowly chipping away. He did not want to be focused or informed of the point situation entering the weekend, instead aiming to race for a victory.

A 24th-place finish at Atlanta and a 23rd-place finish at Watkins Glen put Hamlin in a six-point deficit going into the elimination race. As the night wound down, and having spent the race running with the leaders, Hamlin admitted he was waiting for the other shoe to drop and misfortune to strike again.

“I told them I didn’t even want a countdown,” he said. “I’ve had some unfortunate things happen, so I was definitely just hoping this thing went green and let the thing finish out naturally, and luckily everyone kept their head on.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Finally, Hamlin said, it was a decent run. It was the team’s first top-10 finish since the regular season finale at Darlington Raceway and just the second for the group in their last five races.

“I want to get back on [the] track of contending for wins, and I think tonight’s a good step for that,” Hamlin said. “Then we go to Kansas, where I really feel confident. I feel like this is a reset. This is time to put away the past and go all offense.”

Going on offense means Hamlin won’t fall into the same trap at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Roval. Just as in the first round, a superspeedway and road course are coming up, and Hamlin did not execute well at Atlanta or Watkins Glen on those styles of racetracks.

Hamlin plans to be more aggressive in the second round, but first the team needs to get through Kansas Speedway and see where they stand.

“Overall, this round is very similar, but we couldn’t have finished any worse than what we did the first two [races] and we still made it,” Hamlin said. “Hopefully we do the same.”

An abnormal round battle-tested the No. 11 team, and Gabehart believes it will make them stronger. Like his driver, there will be no making the same mistakes going forward.

“It’s one thing to have it in the Round of 8 or the Round of 12 even — a little bit of adversity — but to be tested in the Round of 16, where we clearly don’t belong being tested on performance,” Gabehart said. “The fact of the matter is Atlanta is a coin flip-style race. Watkins Glen on such a new tire is a coin flip type scenario going into it, and we just didn’t execute well on those coin flips. That’s the bottom line.

“To come to a track where we should control our destiny, and do, certainly gives us a new lease on life, and we won’t forget what we’ve learned. I can promise you we’re going to go to Talladega and race our [butts] off, and we’re going to go [to] whatever the Smith family has dreamed up for the Roval next and race our (butts) off. I’m looking forward to it.”

Custer overcomes early issues to snatch Xfinity win at Bristol

Cole Custer recovered from an early brush with the outside wall to win Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the race that set the field for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. His second victory of the season, combined with a litany of …

Cole Custer recovered from an early brush with the outside wall to win Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the race that set the field for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

His second victory of the season, combined with a litany of trouble that befell Justin Allgaier, gave the driver of the No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford an unlikely come-from-behind victory in the battle for the regular-season title and accompanying 15 Playoff-point bonus.

 

Custer, who led a race-high 104 laps, took the top spot for good with a pass of Sheldon Creed on lap 209 of 300. In winning for the first time at Bristol and the 15th time in his career, Custer crossed the finish line 0.896s ahead of Creed, who now has 13 runner-up finishes to his credit without an Xfinity win.

“This is huge, because our confidence was going down there the last month,” said Custer, the reigning series champion who will begin his title defense Sept. 28 at Kansas Speedway. “To get this win really means a lot…

“It’s unbelievable. These guys never give up. It’s been a tough month, but to be able to lead into the Playoffs like this, we’re going to really bring it to them.”

The race also secured Playoff spots for the final two drivers on the postseason grid. Sammy Smith and Parker Kligerman finished 15th and 16th, respectively, to earn their Playoff berths.

Chandler Smith ran third and Jesse Love fourth on Friday, both having already secured Playoff spots. Ryan Truex was fifth, followed by Brandon Jones, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg (who missed the final Playoff spot by 36 points) and Playoff-bound Sam Mayer.

The battle for the regular-season championship took more twists and turns than a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Custer hit the outside wall on lap 2 and cut a tire, temporarily jeopardizing his second-place position in the standings.

But Allgaier, the driver Custer was chasing for the regular-season title, had his own share of ill fortune on lap 52. Having led every lap to that point, Allgaier was cruising toward what would have been his 15th stage win of the season when the Chevrolet of Austin Green bounced off the outside wall into Allgaier’s path.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Contact between the Camaros sheared the rear bumper cover off Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevy. After a pit stop to repair the car’s right-rear quarter panel, Allgaier continued. Allgaier pitted on lap 60 and stayed on the track during the stage break after lap 85, putting him fifth for a restart on lap 96.

He was second for a restart on lap 127 but his sojourn in the top five didn’t last. On lap 153, contact between Creed’s Toyota and Allgaier’s Chevy sent the No. 7 down the track nose-first into the inside wall.

During repairs, Allgaier’s car dragged a saw out of the pits, incurring a penalty. From that point on, the JR Motorsports driver ran roughly three seconds off the pace, rapidly losing laps and positions.

When Custer took the race lead from Creed on lap 209, he had the regular-season lead, having erased the 43-point advantage Allgaier carried into the race. With his victory, Custer secured the regular-season crown by three points over Allgaier, who nevertheless will enter the postseason as the top seed with 34 Playoff points to Custer’s 28.

“I don’t really have any words for tonight,” said Allgaier, who finished 30th, 10 laps down. “It started with getting the damage from the wreck in front of us. There was nothing we could do. And then, just racing, trying to get as many stage points as we could, and I think the No. 18 (Creed ) came off the wall a little bit.

“I’m really bummed about tonight. We’ll go back and talk about it … We had the best car tonight. It was very obvious from the beginning of the race that it was the best car, and nothing to show for it.”

RESULTS

Bowman leads Hendrick 1-2-3 in Bristol elimination race qualifying

Alex Bowman continued his strong start to the NASCAR Cup Series postseason by winning the pole for Saturday night’s elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowman, the final driver to take time in the last round of single-car qualifying, went to …

Alex Bowman continued his strong start to the NASCAR Cup Series postseason by winning the pole for Saturday night’s elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bowman, the final driver to take time in the last round of single-car qualifying, went to the top of the board at 126.720mph (15.142s). It’s Bowman’s first pole this season and the fifth of his career. It’s also his first at Bristol.

“I thought we struggled a little bit in practice, more than I was expecting, and then in qualifying I had a lot of grip,” Bowman said. “I was a little bit too tight and it was one of those situations where you run a lap and it’s like, ‘It’s going to be really good or really slow,’ because when you’re tight, you slow down until you can turn. Obviously, after the first round, I felt pretty good about it and [I’m] thankful to start up front and qualify well.

“Qualifying has [not been] our strongest suit over the years, so being a cutoff race and everything, starting up front is definitely important.”

Bowman goes into the Bristol night race sitting 41 points above the cutline. He leads all playoff drivers in stage points earned in the first two postseason races (28).

Kyle Larson will join his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on the front row, qualifying second at 126.378mph.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

William Byron made it a 1-2-3 sweep for Hendrick Motorsports, running third at 126.695mph.

Martin Truex Jr. qualified fourth at 126.220mph; Chase Briscoe, fifth at 126.486mph and Christopher Bell, sixth at 125.889mph.

Carson Hocevar was the first non-playoff driver inside the top 10, going seventh at 126.096mph.

Denny Hamlin qualified eighth at 125.666mph followed by non-playoff driver Corey LaJoie in ninth at 125.166mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10 at 125.248mph.

Hamlin is the defending winner of the Bristol night race.

Eight playoff drivers qualified outside the top 10: Ty Gibbs, 13th; Tyler Reddick, 15th; Joey Logano, 20th; Ryan Blaney, 22nd and Brad Keselowski, 23rd.

Austin Cindric qualified 27th; Harrison Burton, 34th and Daniel Suarez, 35th.

The four playoff drivers below the cutline going into Saturday night are Hamlin, Keselowski, Truex, and Burton.

There are 37 drivers entered at Bristol.

NEXT: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday (USA).

RESULTS

Suarez on brink of advancing after turning around ‘very bad’ season

Daniel Suarez is 36 points to the good on the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid ahead of Saturday night’s first elimination race, just as many would have predicted, right? Suarez and his No. 99 team have done nearly everything right – aside from …

Daniel Suarez is 36 points to the good on the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid ahead of Saturday night’s first elimination race, just as many would have predicted, right?

Suarez and his No. 99 team have done nearly everything right – aside from winning — in the first two races of the Round of 16 to put themselves in position to advance. Not only has Suarez earned 73 points between Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen, he’s also earned a combined 14 stage points (which is sixth-best among all playoff drivers).

A second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway kicked things off, then he finished 13th last weekend at Watkins Glen.

“I don’t know if a lot of people [saw it going] that way,” Suarez said.

Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway will eliminate the first four drivers from championship contention. Suarez sits ahead of regular-season champion Tyler Reddick, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, three Hendrick Motorsports drivers, and three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

“[We] started the year very strong with the Atlanta win, but after that, we were bad,” Suarez said. “We were very bad. Since then, there was a month or two that we were very, very bad and we went to work and changed a lot of things internally — the way we were approaching things, the processes… I would say the last two or three months, we’ve been slowly creeping in.”

While some might be surprised that Suarez could be headed to the second round of the postseason, he’s not. He’s also not surprised the No. 99 has been running inside the top 10 and top 15 more often.

“Obviously, Atlanta was a good race for us,” he said. “Watkins Glen, unfortunately, we had to pick and choose points, but before that we were running in the top seven, I think. I feel like we’re [in a good spot]. We are not exactly where we want to be just yet. We have to continue to push and find a little more speed and hopefully we can be good at the end of tomorrow night and into the next round.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

The fruits of a lot of labor are showing for Suarez and his team. He sat as low as 19th in the championship standings during the summer — when the Cup Series returned from the Olympic break — and he was very candid in the work that still needed to be done as his contract was extended for at least another year. It’s been a challenging season for Trackhouse Racing, but Suarez was already offering confidence in their direction.

“I feel like, [in] the last month and a half, we’re starting to see the results of all the work that we’ve been doing the last six months,” Suarez said. “You know how it is — you work your [tail] off for six months and then nothing, nothing, nothing, and then eventually you start seeing a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

“Fortunately … I can see it. OK, now we have speed and now I have something to drive. Squid (crew chief Matt Swiderski) has done an amazing job, [as have] my engineers and everyone at Trackhouse. We’ve had more speed lately, and it’s showing.”

Suarez will need speed at Bristol to finish the job in the first round of the postseason. The concrete half-mile hasn’t treated the Trackhouse Racing drivers well over the last few years, with Suarez’s most recent top-10 finish being in the summer of 2019.

“I love Bristol; it’s one of my favorite racetracks, but it’s been difficult for me here in the past,” Suarez said. “I think we’re in a good spot. We just have to continue to be on offense and continue to attack. I don’t think we’re in a position to take major risks, but we cannot be too conservative either.”

Millican vaults to a special No. 1 at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Top Fuel veteran Clay Millican made the quickest pass on Friday at Bristol Dragway, racing to the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt …

Top Fuel veteran Clay Millican made the quickest pass on Friday at Bristol Dragway, racing to the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the eighth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Millican went 3.786s at 325.06mph in his Parts Plus/Rick Ware Racing dragster in Thunder Valley, holding off points leader Justin Ashley under the lights to take the top spot. Millican, whose first career NHRA win came at Bristol Dragway in 2017, is seeking his first No. 1 qualifier of 2024 and 26th in his career. Friday also marked another special moment at Millican’s favorite and home track on the NHRA tour.

“It’s always something at this place,” Millican said. “This team has absolutely been incredible. We were struggling a little after testing, and then the next thing you know we start going rounds, go to a final at Charlotte, go to the semis last week. I’m excited to do this for a lot of reasons. When you qualify No. 1 against the monsters that we’re racing against these days you’ve accomplished something. But this is the first time I’ve qualified No. 1 with Mr. Rick Ware present. We are here because this guy loves drag racing. The biggest thing he hasn’t been a part of yet is a win on Sunday, so that’s on my agenda, just in case you’re wondering.

“I would love to be the No. 1 qualifier right here at Bristol. That would be awesome. When it comes to race day, last year I would have told you I wanted it hot on race day, but I think we have a car now that it doesn’t matter.”

Points leader Ashley also dipped into the 3.70s with a 3.795s at 322.42mph, putting him second, and Antron Brown’s 3.809s at 321.27mph slots him third.

Austin Prock continued to roll in qualifying, blasting to the top of the Funny Car field with an impressive run under the lights, going 3.958s at 317.34mph in his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. Should that hold, the Funny Car points leader would gain his sixth No. 1 qualifier in the first eight races, a remarkable feat for the first-year Funny Car driver. He advanced to the final round last weekend in Epping, finishing as runner-up to his boss, John Force, and moving to the points lead in the process.

Prock made two strong runs on Friday and can continue that momentum on Saturday with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

“This place is very tough to navigate, for sure. It’s kind of a driver’s racetrack. You have to be on your game all the way to pulling the parachutes,” Prock said. “This is up another level, stressful for the crew chiefs, but if you’re a race car driver you sure do enjoy a place like this.

“When I heard a [3.95s] over the radio, that was the number they were calling and it ended up being good enough. It ended up working out for us, and the entire day was great for this Cornwell Camaro. We have the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge tomorrow, so we’ll be focused. We want to win that medal at the end of the day for sure.”

Alexis DeJoria jumped to the second spot with a 3.973s at 319.90mph and Ron Capps, who has won back-to-back races in Bristol, is third after going 3.976s at 320.74mph.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1430]

In Pro Stock, Erica Enders returned to the site of her 2023 turnaround and put on a show, going low in each session, including a 6.631s at 206.92mph that put her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car in the top spot. Enders, the defending event winner in Bristol, is now on track to put up her second straight top qualifier and fourth this season, and she hopes to break through with her 50th national event victory as well.

Thunder Valley might be the perfect place to do it, as Enders’ turnaround last year came in Bristol. She went on to win her sixth world championship and she’ll look to win for the 50th time this weekend.

“I feel like we’re getting a better handle on our race car,” Enders said. “It was a nice run and was better on the graph. I like the four-qualifying run format better, you can track more things, purse is a little bigger on Sunday. I had a very fast race car and that’s translating to here so far as well.

“I love what I do and the people that I do it with. These moments don’t last forever, so you have to take advantage of them. I realize how blessed I am that I get to do what I love for a living and have done pretty well at it. I feel like we have a lot more left to accomplish.”

Greg Anderson is currently second thanks to his run of 6.636s at 206.45mph and Jeg Coughlin Jr. is right behind with his 6.639s at 206.45mph.

Making the quickest run of both sessions in Pro Stock Motorcycle, six-time world champion Matt Smith made a strong statement on Friday, taking the No. 1 spot with a run of 6.788s at 198.52mph on his Denso Auto Parts/Matt Smith Racing Buell. Smith is attempting to pick up his second No. 1 qualifier this season and the 54th in his career, but Friday’s two stellar runs also give him a strong shot to possibly unseat Gaige Herrera and end his incredible streak.

Herrera has won eight straight races – tied for the most in PSM history – and 31 consecutive rounds, and a win would tie the defending world champion with Bob Glidden for the most consecutive wins (9) and round wins (35) in NHRA history. Smith, though, has other plans.

“I think we showed at Chicago that we’ve been testing a lot and getting our program back better,” Smith said. “It showed here again. I messed up tuning the bike on Sunday in Chicago and came here to redeem myself. My Denso bike is pretty fast, and I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done so far.

“I’m focused, head down. I’m like a hound dog, I’m a hunting dog right now, on the ground trying to find that 60-foot and make it better and better. We are getting better, and we’ll continue to try to work hard and make our bike as fast as possible.”

Chase Van Sant is currently second after going 6.827s at 196.36mph and Herrera is third with a 6.830s at 197.77mph.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Bristol was wild, but we don’t need to overreact

It’s been over nine years since Aaron Rodgers told Green Bay Packers fans to R-E-L-A-X over the team’s slow start to the 2014 season. On Sunday night, after winning the tire war at Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart …

It’s been over nine years since Aaron Rodgers told Green Bay Packers fans to R-E-L-A-X over the team’s slow start to the 2014 season. On Sunday night, after winning the tire war at Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart had a pointed message of their own for the NASCAR industry and its fans.

“Don’t overreact,” Hamlin said.

Unfortunately as it pertains to the amusement factor as it surely would have gone viral, Hamlin did not spell out his statement as Rodgers did. But the message was still loud and clear. The same for Gabehart’s follow up to Hamlin.

“It’s not bad. It’s OK,” Gabehart said. “Quit beating Goodyear up over things like that. They’re supposed to be part of the sport and make it hard on us. I think that’s the narrative we’ve got to start talking about.”

The Food City 500 was unexpectedly entertaining. Although there were questions about what happened to the racetrack at the end of practice and into qualifying Saturday, it’s unlikely anyone could have foreseen how the race would unfold.

Tire wear, resin and marbles, oh my. It was not a Cup Series race fans, drivers, engineers, or crew chiefs are used to seeing. Cup series races are, shall we say, a bit predictable, with hard tires and teams playing out each fuel run.

But there was no chance of that at Bristol. With such high tire wear, it was 40 to 50 laps before drivers were hanging on or in trouble. A fuel run is 190 laps at Bristol, so tires probably shouldn’t have started to give up until 80 to 100 laps into a run.

The theme of the race was about tire management. Some drivers did it better than others. And that’s where the entertainment came in, because it’s not something drivers are used to doing or people get to see them figure out. NASCAR racing has been more about on-throttle time and laying down qualifying laps while aggressively attacking a corner, so it was new to see drivers having to balance how hard to push and slow the pace of the race down.

“This is the first time the driver played a huge role in a long, long time,” Hamlin said. “Long time. It’s a different philosophy from what we’re used to, which is everyone is just kind of on the gas all the time running the bottom, the shortest way around. Technique was a huge deal today.”

Sunday’s tire dramas weren’t down to failures, unlike the infamous race at Indianapolis in 2008 (pictured). Motorsport Images

Don’t fall for the easy and often-used criticism that the tires failed. The tires certainly didn’t fail. There is a difference between tire failures, which blow out repeatedly during a race and tire wear. Indianapolis in 2008, which so many were quick to reference, was a race of tire failures. On that day, the longest run of the race was about 12 laps before the tires started blowing.

Sunday at Bristol was a race of tire wear, albeit drastic wear. The tires lasted, just not as long as expected or teams would hope. However, there is nothing wrong with tire wear and tire management races; the sport needs more. Afterwards, it seemed nearly everyone could agree that having tire fall off is what racing needs, but for some unexplainable reason, there was a lot at Bristol.

And that’s where the overreaction messages come in. Yes, it was different and unique and unexpected. It was fun, though. It made for a race where no one was yelling about dirty air and being unable to pass.

No, this was a driver’s race.

“I would rather be disciplined as a driver than deal with aero tight,” Ryan Preece posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Hell yeah. More of that. Bristol might not have been something that everyone is used to seeing or understanding, but nothing was wrong with what happened. The short tracks could use more of the show Sunday had.

Who knows? Maybe one day the NASCAR industry will look back and say what happened at Bristol wasn’t planned, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. One of the most entertaining short track races in recent memory wasn’t the result of the horsepower debate or a rules package, but tire wear.

“It was fantastic,” Gabehart said. “The whole weekend was nothing that any of us expected, the driver, the crew chiefs, the engineers, the pit crew, the team, the spotter. From the minute practice was over, we suspected something was going to be different. I think a lot of us thought maybe 80, 100 (laps) in, this place would rubber in and get a little more familiar. But it did not.

“It was a blast. I’m not just saying that because we won. I’m saying that because it was fun to have to do something so unrefined. Everything about our business gets to be 16th of a round and 10th of an air pressure. If you just maneuver this 3 inches, you’ll be perfect. It was not going to be perfect this weekend ever. I think that made for a fantastic show.”

So, just relax, as Rodgers would say. Or don’t overreact, as Hamlin advised. It was wild, but everyone came out the other side knowing something good happened even if no yet knows how.

Hamlin, Gabehart stress ‘it’s supposed to be hard’ after wild Bristol

Bristol Motor Speedway winner Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart spent their post-race news conference adamantly expressing that there was nothing wrong with Sunday’s race. “It was challenging,” said Hamlin, who admitted his thoughts were …

Bristol Motor Speedway winner Denny Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart spent their post-race news conference adamantly expressing that there was nothing wrong with Sunday’s race.

“It was challenging,” said Hamlin, who admitted his thoughts were biased. “A different kind of challenge, for sure. Certainly (it was) not something we’ve had to do for a very long time in managing tires. Lesson learned early on. I kind of ran a certain pace, a certain line, wore my tires out.

“From that point on, I made some adjustments internally. He (Gabehart) made some adjustments to the car that allowed me to just manage it from that point on. Once it got into that tire management type of race, certainly my history in late models where you had to do that big-time certainly paid off.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Goodyear described the tire wear as “too drastic” and was searching for answers on what changed from the fall race. Hamlin agreed that being able to run 40 to 50 laps on a set of tires was too small of a window, but the lesson was what happens when there is tire wear with drivers either moving forward or falling backward as they manage their tires.

“This is the first time the driver played a huge role in a long, long time,” Hamlin said. “Long time. It’s a different philosophy from what we’re used to, which is everyone is just kind of on the gas all the time, running the bottom, the shortest way around. Technique was a huge deal (Sunday).”

Gabehart has long preached that drivers and crew chiefs need more control of their race. One of the first things Gabehart mentioned was that Goodyear didn’t deserve any criticism for the tire, which should be different from the strong one the company makes for a road vehicle.

“Honestly, while it’s hard on (tires) yes, yes, it’s supposed to be hard,” Gabehart said. “You’re supposed to see these guys struggle. You’re supposed to see the 25th-place car look like a mess, and the team’s trying to figure out how to rebound and rally, help him understand this run management didn’t work, or the leader is running too hard this run. Tell your driver, ‘You weren’t in the lead this time, this happened,’ let him adjust inside (the car).

“It’s supposed to be hard. This is not supposed to look easy. I think this is what you see when you make it hard.”

It was an unexpected development. There appeared to be no significant issues during the first half of practice, but the track started to change when the second group of drivers got their chance to make runs. By qualifying, drivers were slipping and sliding around the concrete half-mile and beginning to wonder what had changed.

On Sunday morning, NASCAR reapplied the resin spray in the lower lanes of the corners. It didn’t take long in the race to see that tires would be the variable, and it became an event about who managed their sets the best. NASCAR then approved Goodyear to release an extra set of tires in the second stage.

“There’s not a single driver, single crew chief, engineer that planned on this,” Gabehart said.

Hamlin hopes the industry – and fans – don’t overreact. He and Gabehart felt Sunday was a learning experience.

“I’ve been saying for a while from my little microphone when anyone asks is that we got to stop talking badly about Goodyear in these situations,” Gabehart said. “This is not bad. Goodyear can make a million-mile tire that I have on my car when I get to the airport and drive home. It’s fantastic. I never have any trouble with it. This is supposed to be sport. It’s supposed to be hard.

“It’s supposed to force these guys to make decisions in the car. Do I go now? Do I not? The crew chiefs to make decisions on how they treat the tire, what their setup is, how long do you want to run this stint. You can’t just run the fuel tank out and the tire not blow. It might blow on you.

“That last green flag stop when we called him in, I can’t tell you how stressful it was. If NASCAR throws a caution when I’m on pit road, I’m in a lot of trouble. He knows it. But he’s telling me, ‘Hey, this tire is about to blow out.’

“Finally, you look up, and you’re thinking strategy the whole time. I’ve ran this many green flag laps, there will be this many till the end. Who is pitting, who is not? We looked like a jalopy out there compared to cars with tires. You’re trying to manage all that. That right rear tire wasn’t going to make it two more laps and we would have had a flat tire like so many others. What I want everyone to understand is that is not bad.”