Teams trying to decipher tire wear at Bristol Motor Speedway

BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Iconic Bass Pro Shops Night Race is still a few months away. But, on Tuesday, Goodyear had six NASCAR Cup Series drivers testing out tires at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile.

Denny Hamlin drove to victory lane this past spring in the Food City 500 – after what he called some of the most fun he’s had on a race track.

Still, other drivers were surprised, and even a bit frustrated, by the amount of tire ware that took place. There were a record 54 lead changes and 16 different lead drivers.

All teams were given an extra set of tires, due to the rapid deterioration, but cording still remained an issue.

On Tuesday, in the July heat, drivers said their early test runs were still very similar to the April conditions. However, once officials applied PJ1, a synthetic resin, on the track, the tires held up a bit longer.

“The PJ1 was very helpful for the tire today,” driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Chevy, Austin Dillon, said. “It made it live a lot longer. The resin that they ran last time doesn’t seem to let the rubber lay down.”

“Not that our last time here was bad,” 2022 Bass Pro Shops Night Race winner, Chris Buescher, said. “You want tire wear and you want to manage things, but it was a little bit on the heavy end of it. We were kinda hoping with a warmer temperature we could make it to that 40-60 lap window.”

Driver of the No. 16 Stewart-Haas Ford, Chase Briscoe, says the Food City 500 was certainly a challenge. But, he believes its one that makes for a fun, if not unpredictable, race.

“I’m glad I’m not the one that has to figure it all out – them guys are way smarter than me,” he smiled. “It’s certainly head-scratching, just what’s kind of changed over the last year.”

Night Race Weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway will begin on Thursday, September 19.

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