Goodyear unsure why tires are wearing out so quickly at Bristol
Things are wild in this Food City 400 at Bristol, and everyone is confused by the extreme tire fall off, even Goodyear themselves. This NASCAR race is going to get wild in the last 100 laps.
As drivers, teams, and fans slowly started to realize that this Goodyear compound wasn’t being laid down on the track as it usually is, everyone got excited. At least, most people. We have seen an afternoon of great racing already in this one.
Dustin Long of NBC was able to ask Greg Stucker of Goodyear about the tire situation. Stucker seems just as perplexed as anyone.
“I still think the racetrack should be taking rubber as it did last fall. … Still a bit of an unknown as far as why it’s not behaving the same way, that being the racetrack.”
Goodyear has done something at Bristol, accidentally, that has created an amazing display of NASCAR skill. These drivers are working every lap. By the time they get 30 laps on these tires, they are sliding around. 40 laps, blowouts threaten to happen. At 50 laps, you start wondering about a green flag pit stop.
There will be a lot of data taken away from today. Whatever they find I hope they can recreate it, at least to an extent, at other tracks. The concrete at Bristol always poses a danger, but this was a pleasant surprise, albeit incidentally.
It got to the point that Goodyear gave teams an extra set of tires.
Goodyear unsure about Bristol tire issues
Now, as unexpected as this was, teams were frustrated with the lack of rubber being put onto the track, the amount of marbles produced, and the fall off of the tire. For more than half of this race, teams were unsure of what to do. Then, they started to figure things out.
This resin is likely a culprit too. PJ1 was not used this year on the bottom lane. This resin combination with the tire compound has just created conditions for the tires to be shredded.
These concrete tracks can really destroy rubber and create that marble effect. Leaders are chewing up tires for the most part, and coming and going. There has been a record for passes for the lead. Ty Gibbs has put on a great show and is in a battle with his teammates up front. What more could you ask for?
Sometimes in racing, you just take what you can get. For all of the complaints about the racing in recent years, particularly at Bristol, NASCAR fans should appreciate what they are watching right now. Goodyear may have messed up but it’s made Bristol better for it.