NASCAR isn’t the only racing series that has struggled to find a tire compound that is perfectly suited for racetracks. With just three races left in the zMAX CARS Tour season, the drivers were handed a big surprise for the race at South Boston Speedway. It wasn’t the racetrack or new sets of racing rules, but rather a change in tire compound.

Both the Pro Late Model Stock Car and Late Model Stock Car divisions are at a crucial stage in terms of championship battle. Therefore, a tire change for the AutobyNelson 280 race could throw in extra challenges for the contenders. Going by the practice session on Friday, it does seem like the drivers are struggling to get to grips with the new tire.

“Some differences,” as noted by the drivers

One of the big differences the drivers noticed running at the short track in Virginia was the drastic falloff in terms of lap times. While the track conditions can be one of the variables for this drastic change, most of the drivers believed it was because of the new tire.

South Boston Speedway utilizes the Hoosier T2 tires for the LMSC races. The zMAX CARS Tour also used the same compound but has now switched to the softer Hoosier F45 tire. Matt Weaver from Sportsnaut was able to get an idea about the growing concerns among the teams and drivers after the practice sessions concluded.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s talented driver, Carson Kvapil, wasn’t able to understand the reason for his struggles on the track. “These 45s are a little bit of a flashback for me. It’s been a while since I ran on these, and I feel like there’s definitely some differences. We were really tight all day, and it seemed like the set-up should have been really loose.”

CARS Tour regular Brandon Pierce was one of the few drivers who were really concerned about how the tire would shape the race. “My thing is a safety thing. I don’t think that tire will make a 125 lap. I don’t care if we run ST-1,2 or F45 or whatever it is; it just needs to be a consistent tire.” Pierce had a tire issue just three laps into his practice run and is now hoping for a better solution.

Although there were plenty of complaints by the small teams and independent drivers. Interestingly, the big boys of the series had rather contrasting views on this situation with the new tire.

Connor Hall and Brenden Queen share their take on the tire concerns

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The two drivers are battling each other for the LMSC championship. Although Hall had a considerable lead at the time, Butterbean Queen has managed to cut off the point difference. The Lee Pulliam Performance driver has now closed the gap to just three points from the leader and will look to continue this run at South Boston.

While there had been complaints about the new tire compound that has been put to use, Hall didn’t find any significant difference in his practice runs. “I feel like minus one or two changes were really good. I think the 45s were definitely being made for other people who weren’t good on SV2 are good now. But as far as our game plan, we’re gonna stay true to that. As far as laying the rubber down, I feel like here it’s pretty similar.” Connor Hall said after the practice runs.

Meanwhile, his rival Brenden Queen shared a similar opinion on the new tire being used for the race tomorrow. “I don’t know if it causes too much of a difference, but it’s still a Hoosier tire, and the ST ones can’t be too different to the ones we got. I don’t think that really playing into it because I feel like we’d had that issue in Florence if that was the case.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other co-owners could be in a tough spot if the main events at South Boston Speedway get affected by tire experimentation. The last thing they need is a tire controversy that could somehow alter the title race.