Six Cup teams participated in a tire test on Tuesday at the concrete short track, and it remains unclear whether it resulted in any solid answers or will prompt a change in the tires used for the next event.
The Sept. 21 race will be run at night and serves as a cutoff race in the Round of 16 of the Cup Series playoffs.
In the race in March, Goodyear brought the same tire combination that was used in last September’s race, but it became clear early on the tire fall-off was laying no rubber on the track, which resulted in unusually excessive tire wear.
Teams quickly discovered they couldn’t go more than 47 to 50 laps before they risked a tire cording to the point of losing air pressure.
Justin Haley, Rick Ware Racing, Ohanafy Ford Mustang, Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing, Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan / Bassmaster Classic Chevrolet Camaro, Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang\ and Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Mavis Express Oil Change Toyota Camry
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Much of Tuesday’s test focused on trying to determine how the traction compounds that have been used on the Bristol track relate to the tire’s performance.
“Goodyear realized the PJ1 was very helpful for the tire and made it live a lot longer. The resin that they ran last time doesn’t seem to let the rubber lay down and it just dusts up,” said driver Austin Dillon.
“Laying rubber down you can run longer runs. The tire felt fine, and we had good lap times. The tire did fall off quite a bit. Over 30 laps it was almost a second – pretty good falloff. That’s falling off fast enough to where if your car is a little better than the next guy, you can kind of manage the tire and pass the guys in front of you.”
Chase Briscoe, driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 Ford, said he still doesn’t quite understand why the March race played out the way it did.
“It would be different if that was the first Next Gen race we ever had here, but we’ve ran other races and never had that problem. Now it’s like a thing to figure out,” he said. “Early in the day we could run 25 to 30 laps and there at the end I ran 40 laps.
“If there were more cars here, we would’ve had more rubber. It does create a unique challenge and it puts a lot in the driver’s hands. We don’t really have this at other places we go.”
Briscoe said everyone realizes that the September night race will be run in cooler temperatures, which will change the dynamic of the race.
However, even running in Tuesday’s warmer temperatures wasn’t producing expected results in tire wear.
“The one thing that’s odd for me is that we were in 85, 90-degree weather and still didn’t have that rubber build up or that color change (on the track). I will let the guys who are way smarter than me figure that out,” he said.
“It’s head-scratching for sure, trying to see what’s changed here in a year. At the Night Race, I think you will see the same typical same Bristol racing where we start at the bottom (lane) early and then by the end you can run the top and bottom.”
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher also thought the tires would last 40 to 60 laps with Tuesday’s higher temperatures.
“We felt like there was still some heavy wear, so they put the PJ1 down about halfway through the day. I vote for the PJ1 and I’m a fan of it as long as it stays on the narrow side,” he said.
“The PJ1 seems to wear out through a race weekend and the hope is that the groove will move around to where we will start chasing the middle and the top (lanes).”
Also participating in Tuesday’s test were Rick Ware Racing’s Justin Haley, Spire Motorsports’ Corey LaJoie and Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek.