Severe tire wear at Bristol Night Race throws NASCAR Playoffs into chaos

Despite all of the rubber in the track, the NASCAR Playoffs have been thrown for a loop in the Bristol Night Race. We are seeing severe tire wear right now throughout the entire field. It’s like the Spring 2024 race all over again.

Drivers are running until the car feels like it is going to slip out from under them, and then hitting pit road. We are seeing fall off as much as three seconds between the fastest laps being run and the slowest as the tires shred and fall apart.

Right now, Ty Gibbs looks like he is running a good strategy. Ryan Blaney ran long. These tires are only lasting 30-40 laps, and teams need them to last 50-60 laps to make it to the end of the race. Something has to give.

Look at these tires from John Hunter Nemechek’s and Bubba Wallace’s cars after just one run at the Bristol Night Race. Wendy Venturini of PRN was on pit road to document the severe tire wear.

That escalated quickly. These are RF off @JHNemechek @BubbaWallace @ItsBristolBaby @PRNlive pic.twitter.com/NHRjs8vIGs

— Wendy Venturini (@WendyVenturini) September 13, 2025

Goodyear brought a new, even softer right-side tire this time around. Early on, we are seeing severe tire wear, and now teams are scrambling to figure out how to make all of their tires last until the end of the race.

80 laps in, Josh Berry brought out the caution when his car caught on fire. Enough rubber built up under the fenders that it caught fire and smoked Berry out of his car. That is an issue that hasn’t really been seen since the 2022 season.

If these drivers want to win the Bristol Night Race, they have to earn it. Crew chiefs have to adjust, drivers have to adjust. It’s going to be a wild night of racing, folks.

Bristol Night Race thrown into chaos with tire wear

While softer tires aren’t the only fix to short track racing for the Next Gen car, they are a big part of it. If only we could have this tire wear happen more reliably, then teams could plan around it and really give fans a show.

The Bristol Night Race has not been the best event in recent years. Passing is hard, the tires last for 100+ laps at a time, and the single-groove on the bottom is the only way drivers can make it around the track with good speed.

Tonight, we are seeing a different kind of race. There are so many factors right now that many teams didn’t see coming. Practice did not tell anyone that this was going to happen. It’s one of these things that you just don’t know about until you know it.

Who can take advantage of the tire wear and win the Bristol Night Race? Could the NASCAR Playoffs change due to this tire situation?