NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Tired of talking tires

A NASCAR weekend defined by Kyle Larson and tires, Bristol gave us a much different result on-track than it did last year. Without an option tire at short tracks, what is the solution to make the racing product worthwhile?

The matter of a few degrees in Fahrenheit is all it takes to take Bristol from an exciting tire management race to what we saw on Sunday. Once Kyle Larson figured out that the tires were holding up, he ripped around the track to the lead and pretty much held it.

To his credit, Larson survived the green flag pit cycle, unlike William Byron at Darlington. Still, fans are wondering what happened to good old-fashioned short-track racing. And when are we going to stop pretending that tires are going to save what is wrong with this car?

Ty Majeski gets into Frankie Muniz

To start out the Bristol weekend we had the Truck Series race. One major wreck in that event as Ty Majeski misjudged where Frankie Muniz was going.

Majeski was in the top-five at the time and was lapping Muniz. It led to a few cars getting piled up together. Not ideal.

NASCAR honors Hattori, Pearce, and Edwards

During the Truck Series race and throughout the weekend, NASCAR and its media partners honored three great men. Shige Hattori, Al Pearce, and Jon Edwards all three died in the last week.

A beloved team owner and former driver, a fixture of NASCAR journalism, and one of the most beloved PR reps in the business. All three, gone too soon.

Chandler Smith denies Kyle Larson the sweep

The Kyle Larson sweep was over in race one this weekend. Chandler Smith was fantastic and kept the Cup Series champion out of victory lane.

Smith earned his first win at Front Row. Coming back down to the Truck Series wasn’t ideal, but he’s making the most of his NASCAR journey.

NASCAR Cup teams freak out about tires in practice

With the cooler temperatures on Saturday, the NASCAR Cup Series teams were losing it. Tires were shredding like parmesan cheese, and everyone thought we were in store for a repeat of last season.

Well, that freak out was premature. Turns out that just a few degrees of warmth and a little sunlight make all the difference.

They are doing WHAT to an intermediate track?

A rumor came out over the weekend that had some clarification – apparently an intermediate track that fans like a lot is going to get the “Atlanta treatment” soon.

That means turning it into a fourth drafting-style superspeedway track. Atlanta has been great, but no one wants this. Good news, it isn’t a NASCAR-owned track the rumor is about, so Kansas is safe. … Las Vegas on the other hand…

Sheldon Creed, Brennan Poole avoid disaster in violent wreck

In the most violent wreck of the year, Sheldon Creed was very lucky. Brennan Poole was lucky as well. Both drivers managed to walk away from this wreck with just the air knocked out of them.

A few feet closer to the driver’s side door panel and Creed could have been seriously hurt. Both cars were more or less ripped in half, one horizontally and the other vertically.

Kyle Larson dominates NASCAR Xfinity Series race

In a preview of what we saw on Sunday, Kyle Larson dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. This thing was over before it started, with how fast Larson was right out of the gate.

Carson Kvapil finished P2 in this race and led a trio of JRM cars in the top-five. Justin Allgaier scored the most points and finished P3 to extend his lead in the standings.

NASCAR makes freaks out, gives tires and adds PJ1

Since the teams panicked on Saturday, so did NASCAR officials. Before even seeing what the track was going to look like at race time, NASCAR gave teams an extra set of tires and added more PJ1 to the track.

We likey weren’t going to get a great race anyway and the tires were going to hold up for super long runs. So, why didn’t NASCAR just leave it alone? Do not add more PJ1, do not give more tires (teams didn’t need half of their tires) and see what happens.

Pit crew member narrowly avoids runaway wheel

During the NASCAR Cup Series race, there was a scary moment on pit road. A wheel came off the No. 42 car of John Hunter Nemechek. That wheel went straight for the crew of Daniel Suárez.

Thankfully, the wheel bounced off of the 99 car, off of the gas can, and didn’t hurt anyone. It did lead to the 99 pit crew making a mistake of their own and letting a wheel roll away. Penalties for all!

Kyle Larson leads 411 laps at Bristol

With tires that wouldn’t wear out and a rocketship of a car, Kyle Larson led 411 laps on his way to the win on Sunday. He has led over 400 laps each in the last two races at Bristol. Utter domination.

Larson won two of three races this weekend. No sweep for him. Kyle Busch still remains the only driver ever to do it, and he did it twice.

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