NASCAR Cup Series teams warn of Spring 2024 repeat amid Bristol qualifying

Uh oh, we might have a repeat of 2024 on our hands, folks. NASCAR teams are reporting severe tire wear at Bristol. This could mean fans are in for a good, old-fashioned tire wear short-track race.

Last year the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol had tires issues. No one knew that the tires were going to shred apart instead of rubbering into the track. NASCAR has added PJ1 Trackbite to the track, but that was back on Thursday.

Already in practice, the Cup Series teams are having issues. Running hard on these tires means you only get about 40 laps out of them before you start to cord them. That means plenty of pit stops and a lot of tire management.

Kevin Harvick had this to say on the Prime Video practice and qualifying session. He is having deja vu.

“When I look through my notebooks, it is word for word what is happening right now,” Harvick said. He likely isn’t the only one.

“Track is taking a s**t. Tires are coming apart,” Brad Keselowski said on the radio.

RFK Racing also posted this picture of Ryan Preece’s tire. Looks like the rubber is shredding and marbling up on the track.

Whatever is in these NASCAR Cup Series tires does not like a cool, Bristol track. This is making Denny Hamlin very happy. He won this race last year and is looking to win his third race in a row this season. He dominated at Martinsville. Can he do it again?

“I’ve always thought that the car and the driver have a 50/50 share of responsibility in it. Yeah, I mean, I think everyone probably came here thinking we’re going all out, but maybe that’s not the case, I don’t know,” Hamlin said about potential tire management.

NASCAR has had so many great races at Bristol. Last year’s Spring 2024 race was likely the best one the track had put on in years. Especially with this Next Gen car.

This is what fans want. At Bristol, they want drivers to wrestle with the cars. It has to be a give and take. Most of the time, drivers just take, take, take because the tires let them do that.

The NASCAR race at Bristol is going to be interesting. With more sun and warmer temperatures tomorrow, could some teams make a gamble? Instead of preparing for a tire wear race, could some teams luck out and prepare for a race like we see in the late Summer? It’s possible. But right now, I’d expect a repeat of last Spring.

The post NASCAR Cup Series teams warn of Spring 2024 repeat amid Bristol qualifying appeared first on On3.