Kyle Petty applauds NASCAR for using wet tires at New Hampshire, opening the door for more opportunities

Kyle Petty heaped a ton of praise NASCAR’s way for the way wet weather tires were used during Sunday’s USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

After moving up the start time to avoid Mother Nature interfering in the race to no avail, as rain and lightning rolled through the area with 82 laps to go, it seemed all hope was lost for NASCAR to finish the race, with the way it was down-pouring in Loudon. However, that all changed thanks to a landmark decision.

Wet weather tires were put on the vehicles, and NASCAR was able to finish the full allotment of laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Christopher Bell was the major beneficiary, as he was able to take the lead and hold onto it.

Afterwards, Petty was more than impressed with the way the tire performed, and the racing we saw after resuming in Loudon. He believes the possibilities are now endless, and it’ll be fascinating to see where NASCAR goes from here.

“It’s a wet weather tire. It is not a rain tire people. We didn’t see any windshield wipers on these cars. It’s a wet weather tire, and I want to throw something at you, in wet conditions, the track gets slick. Slick track means throttle, means driver, means good racing. Let’s just put those three together right there. What we saw though, was these guys were running three to four seconds slower when the rain came and the wet track came than what they were under normal conditions, and it didn’t change the racing,” Petty stated. “Running slower made the racing better. It went from a two, maybe a three-groove racetrack, to a six groove racetrack. Those guys were on the apron with their left sides in the grass almost when the weather came. That’s because that’s what weather tires do. They allow you to run in other places. They allow the racetrack to open up. I thought what we saw was great driving from all the competitors yesterday. They all adjusted well, some better than others.

“But listen, when it comes to a race like this, it’s an open game. Anybody can win, anytime. But as we looked at yesterday’s race, I think it opens the possibility and opens the door for NASCAR to do so many great things, and I applaud NASCAR for it.”

Moving forward, NASCAR will have a ton of interesting decisions to make regarding the wet weather tire, but it’s evident it’s a game-changer for the sport. Kyle Petty recognizes that, and he’s right to applaud NASCAR for what we saw on Sunday afternoon.