NASCAR makes tire, track change ahead of Bristol Cup Series race

Due to the tire wear that NASCAR teams saw in practice at Bristol on Saturday, officials have made a couple of changes. The Cup Series teams are being given an extra set of tires. Also, PJ1 Trackbite was reapplied earlier today to the bottom groove of the track.

Tires were wearing out in about 40 laps on Saturday. That 35-40 lap area was where cords started to show and drivers began to get into sketchy territory on the high banks of Bristol.

NASCAR had these issues at Bristol last Spring. Cooler temperatures make it harder for that PJ1 to heat up and actually work. It also causes the surface of the track to shred tires into dust and marbles instead of rubbering into the track itself.

Cup teams will now have 11 sets of tires to work with. That could be the difference for a few teams if they get into a tricky situation late in this race. This race is going to be one worth watching. Will it be total chaos like a year ago?

There were drivers that were excited to see the tire wear and others not so happy. Alex Bowman, who starts on pole, was happy to see the tire wear. He hopes that it is a tire management race like last season. RFK Racing didn’t seem so happy about it, but you have to work with the cards you are dealt.

NASCAR racing at Bristol has been hit or miss lately. Let’s hope today is a hit.

NASCAR Bristol: Will Denny Hamlin win three in a row?

Ahead of today’s race, let’s go over Denny Hamlin and his quest for three wins in a row. He’s never done it in the Cup Series. Today, he has a chance. Short track, that’s good for Hamlin. Bristol, well he’s pretty good there. Tire wear? Well, Hamlin might be the best tire manager in the series.

A lot of signs point to a good day for Denny Hamlin. But you never know what can happen. Once cars start getting lapped and drivers have to navigate through traffic, things are going to be dicey.

NASCAR teams should be better prepared for Bristol in case of extreme tire wear. The notes from last season will go a long way for many of these drivers and teams. Then again, it might get warm enough that the race ends up like a usual Next Gen short track race.

I think everyone wants to see Bristol put on good races. We need it to be the track that fans from all over come to watch the fastest short-track racing on the planet. Tire wear in this Next Gen car seems to be what does it.