Despite Battling Wet Track Issues, Kyle Larson Exposes NASCAR’s Hesitation Ruining Race Strategy

At the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell was practically untouchable. Behind him on the track were Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry. 4th-placed Kyle Larson also proved to be a strong contender for a while but eventually lost out. What didn’t help the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s case was the constantly changing weather. Close to the end of the third stage, the heavens opened and forced a stoppage for a while. Unlike what happened at the Coca-Cola 600 though, officials managed to get this race underway after the shower.

However, the race soon turned into a lottery, with multiple spins, wrecks, and cautions. To sum up, this race did a fantastic job of testing everyone’s patience. This also included the drivers’ patience and resolve, as even Kyle Larson complained about the tire calls.

How did Kyle Larson survive that sketchy stint?

He was thankful that he could slap on a new set of tires. Larson was in a bit of a tough spot as the race wound down, but the last 10 laps were his saving grace. He told Bob Pockrass, “Honestly, it didn’t matter. Just being able to put on tires is probably good. I think that last little 10-lap segment kind of got broken, and that helped things. Had you gone 10 laps straight on the dried surface, it would have been difficult. Maybe that would have made for a better finish, who knows? This track was definitely ready for slicks.” The situation was tricky because NASCAR mandated that the drivers had to be on the wet tires.

However, the track was drying, but the officials did not give the green light for slick ties. Of course, wet tires on a dry track, are not a good idea, as grip was quickly lost and drivers had to tiptoe. What supported that theory was the number of cautions all the way until the end. It even got to a point where the race went into overtime before finally wrapping up. Additionally, so many drivers wrecked, like Kyle Busch and Corey LaJoie, multiple times, Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson, and many more.

Larson also received support from the likes of Chase Briscoe and Michael McDowell. According to McDowell, the important thing was that all the drivers put on a good show for the fans. Briscoe also praised the way NASCAR handled the wet weather situation.

At least this race was seen through to the end

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The Hendrick Motorsports driver harked back to the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Around that time, he was attempting to complete a historic Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 double. However, the weather had other ideas, and even though he turned up at Charlotte; the race was called off because of the weather. This time around, he was glad that lightning didn’t strike twice. He said, “Yeah, for sure, I’m definitely happy with that. It was great, I think I went forward – obviously our cars operate fine in damp conditions  – I wish we could spend more time drying pit road. That way we could have strategy”.

“Mandate us, put on the damps or the wet tires, and after that, it’s up to us. I think if they could spend more time drying pit road, rather than the track, it would make for a way more exciting strategy-style race. More comers and goers, people making daring moves with slicks on the wet surfaces, trying to get by people. Hopefully, they are inching towards that. We got enough data points now to see that the track dries extremely fast when you get out there.”

Kyle Larson felt that NASCAR could have done things a little differently while handling the weather conditions. According to him, it would have helped with the strategy and made the race much more exciting. He lamented that they did not gamble with the slick tires, but hoped that the sport would learn something from this race weekend.