TC Daily Pit Stop: Denny Hamlin Wins in Throwback Tire Management Race at Bristol; Goodyear and NASCAR Have Different Reactions to Food City 500; Above the Yellow Line
TC Daily Pit Stop: Monday, March 18th, 2024
Denny Hamlin Nurses Tires Best to Score Victory in Old-School Race at Bristol
While nobody fully understands why, there was extreme tire wear throughout Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. And while youngster Ty Gibbs took the wins in Stages 1 and 2, the tire wear eventually played squarely into the hands of the veteran racers in the field.
In the end, it was Denny Hamlin who managed his tires, lapped traffic, and the gap to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. perfectly to score the race win. Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps in the 500-lap event, which featured a Bristol-record 54 lead changes.
RACE RECAP
OFFICIAL RACE RESULTS
DRIVER STANDINGS
OWNER STANDINGS
ROOKIE STANDINGS
MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
Goodyear Calls Food City 500 Tire Wear ‘Too Drastic’
While Goodyear’s Greg Stucker, who met with media mid-race to discuss the aggressive tire wear in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol, said, “Tire wear is always the goal,” he stated that the level of tire wear in Sunday’s race was, “too drastic.”
Stucker and Goodyear were confused as they brought the same tire combination that was utilized last fall at Bristol. The only real difference on Sunday was the traction compound that NASCAR used, this time going with resin instead of PJ1. NASCAR made the change as Bristol was officially approved for wet-weather racing, and PJ1 causes cars to lose traction in wet conditions.
While Goodyear was on an all-out apology tour mid-race, NASCAR at the end of the day liked what they saw in Sunday’s race.
“Well, I know the race teams are probably pretty worn out right now, and I know our track crew and folks up in the booth are pretty worn out just from a pretty exciting day all the way around on the track,” NASCAR’s John Probst said. “Certainly had some anxiety around tire wear and things like that, but overall, I think it was probably one of the best short track races I’ve ever seen.”
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Video: Tyler Reddick Crashes From Lead, Multi-Car Crash Ensues at Bristol
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Above The Yellow Line: Tire Trouble Is The Best Thing To Happen To Gen 7 Short Track Racing
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Josh Berry Equally Disappointed, Thankful for 12th Place Run at Bristol
Josh Berry had his first really good race weekend of his NASCAR Cup Series rookie campaign, and while it ended in a 12th-place finish, Berry was just happy to finish the race. As Berry said as he crossed the finish line on Lap 500, “I think I had three flat tires and I was on fire.”
While his car ended up on fire literally, Berry was on fire figuratively for the majority of the weekend. Berry qualified a career-best second to start the weekend, and in the race, he took the lead twice and led for a total of 25 laps. In the end, while it wasn’t a top-10, Berry scored his best finish of the season despite a mid-race spin, and tire issues late in the race.
Just imagine the average tire bill (alone) for one car for this race at Bristol - NASCAR is doing a very poor job keeping things affordable at a time when the popularity of the sport has suffered.