NASCAR touts resin at Bristol, despite drivers nearly out of tires. ‘Maybe give them more’
Everyone involved in Bristol Motor Speedway’s historic NASCAR race on Sunday would say something was different.
When last fall’s night race at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” was delayed, NASCAR tested PJ1, a traction compound, and felt it was “almost like oil on the track,” John Probst, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer, told reporters.
So NASCAR elected to use resin on the track instead. Drivers struggled to control their cars during Saturday’s qualifying session, and rubber was visibly flying off tires throughout the Cup Series race on Sunday.
“Most of the answers you’re gonna get from me today, it’s going to be from a biased standpoint. We won the race,” said Denny Hamlin, the veteran driver who took his 52nd checkered flag on Sunday. “But I think if you change nothing, if you change absolutely nothing about the tire, nothing with the resin and we came back next week, many teams would make big adjustments for their cars.”
The race totaled nine cautions, but surprisingly, none came over the final 100 laps. Drivers needed to manage their pit stops differently than any race, and they all made green-flag pit stops late.
Social media was ablaze throughout the race, and it felt like there was a legitimate chance that teams might not have enough tires to complete the 500 laps. Their tires got worn quickly, and Goodyear ended up having to give each team one additional set of tires — and still barely made it through the race.
“There were times in the race, obviously, when there was anxiety around ‘are we going to have enough tires to finish it?’” Probst said. “But man, coming out at the end and watching all that, I would not want to change much at all, honestly, just maybe give them more tires.”
Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski — the Cup Series’ oldest trio — were the top three finishers when all was said and done.
Those drivers’ crew chiefs, engineers and team members figured it out. That didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult for everyone — but that’s the point of racing.
“I guarantee you that, surely, you guys at NASCAR are gonna send out a stat packet of all the passes that happened today,” Hamlin said. “There were times when I was leading, Ty (Gibbs) was pressuring me, and I’m just like, no, it’s not time, go ahead.
“It really used to be that way. So it was fun from my standpoint, because honestly, I had a good car that allowed me to do what I needed to do.”
Said Kyle Larson, who finished fifth: “I think I’ve only done a couple — like one or two — green flag pit stops here, ever. Green flag pit stops are fun, but they’re sketchy in a place like this because you don’t want to get stuck a lap down.”
After Bristol held its spring race on dirt for three years, Sunday featured a race that won’t be forgotten in any record books of the 63-year-old track.
The 54 lead changes not only broke Bristol’s record, but also shattered the mark for any track of 1.00 miles or fewer — there have been 1,385 NASCAR races on short tracks.
“Certainly a record-setting day for us,” Probst said. “I know the race teams are probably pretty worn out right now. I know our track team, the folks up in the booth, are pretty worn out. Pretty exciting day all around on the track.
“Certainly had some anxiety around tire wear and things like that, but all in all, I think it was probably one of the best short track races I’ve ever seen.”
