Denny Hamlin Uncharacteristically Hails Tony Stewart’s Old Nemesis for Ending NASCAR’s Short Track Woes

When it comes to the NASCAR Next Gen car, one of the biggest complaints has to do with the short-track package. In the past three years, the quality of racing on short tracks has left much to be desired. There have been suggestions that increasing the horsepower could be a major help, but NASCAR is not exactly playing ball. In light of this, Denny Hamlin has confessed that a more permanent solution could be on the horizon.

Earlier this year, the NASCAR Cup Series was at the Bristol Motor Speedway. During that race, the tire fall from Goodyear produced an unpredictable race. Now at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, Hamlin is witnessing something similar, and he couldn’t stop gushing.

North Wilkesboro is another short track, and there was a genuine fear of a similarly boring race. However, if the tire life is anything to go by, fans might get their money’s worth.

Hamlin told NASCAR, “Nailed it with this one. It’s just a great tire. Great lap time variation between the two tires. Also, just the ability to pass with it, because there’s a difference in speed between the cars. I’ve just seen now, guys searching for new pavement, and trying to get grip. They don’t want to be in the rubber, because it is kind of slick, so. Really, really fun right now. This is like back to the old short track days.”

The main sticking point is that the drivers are able to overtake much better at North Wilkesboro. There is also an element of strategy because the drivers have to really hunt for grip on the track. As it happens, the tires in question are soft-shod tires, and their life span is not particularly long-lived. This forces the drivers to really nurse the tires and think strategically.

Last time out at Bristol, the race was a bit chaotic, as there were multiple tire failures. Now, most of the drivers would like to think that they learned from that, and will race smarter.

Goodyear still doesn’t have a fan in Tony Stewart

Despite all this, it would take a lot of convincing for Tony Stewart to put in a good word for the tire manufacturer. His beef with Goodyear goes all the way back to 2008, one of the brand’s worst seasons. The tires were so terrible, and many drivers had complaints, with Stewart leading them. It all came to a head during the 2008 Brickyard 400, where the tires were exploding every 10 laps.

Goodyear very nearly ran out of its tire allocation, and the race went down as one of the worst Brickyard 400 races in 26 years. Back then, Stewart declared that Goodyear had left multiple sports in recent years. This included but was not limited to, Formula One, Indy Racing League, CART, and the World of Outlaws.

All this was because ‘Goodyear can’t build a tire that’s worth a crap’. Stewart insisted that the manufacturer should be embarrassed by the display during that 2008 race. His comments were in spite of his finishing second in Atlanta that year.