Kyle Larson says Food City 500 at Bristol was ‘weird and interesting’

Count Kyle Larson as one of the drivers who was less than thrilled with the racing during Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The Food City 500 quickly became a tire management race due to the racetrack eating up the Goodyear tires. The major issue was that no rubber was being laid out on the track. Instead, all of the tire wear was marbling up. Larson didn’t find any excitement in it as some did, calling the race “weird and interesting.”

“It was weird and interesting,” Larson said after the race, via Jim Utter of Motorsport. “I thought some rubber was gonna be laid down, but after the second run, we realized that wasn’t going to be the case. I hope I never have to run a race like that again.”

Though Larson would love to get away from a tire management race, he did find success at Bristol. He finished fifth, one of five cars to finish on the lead lap, leading 19 laps throughout the race.

Denny Hamlin outlasts field at Bristol

Resin was notably used on the track this year as opposed to PJ1, which could have played a factor. Speaking with the media during the race, Goodyear executive Greg Stucker said that the tire wear at Bristol was “too drastic.”

“I would agree, tire wear is always the goal,” Stucker said. “That’s what people wanted to see. It creates comers and goers and who manages tires the best. But like I said, we thought we were in a really good spot last year with the tire as we raced it in the fall, and something is different now. So, this is too drastic.”

Ultimately, it was Denny Hamlin who managed his tires the best, picking up his second consecutive win at Bristol and 52nd overall. Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, outlasting Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. to earn the victory.

“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston, Martinsville,” Hamlin said after the race. “Once it became a tire management race, I really liked our chances.”