How NASCAR Took a Gamble With Drivers Safety at Bristol As Dale Earnhardt Jr Alleges Them of Disparity

Sunday’s short track action at Bristol wasn’t what racing experts and aficionados expected it to be. Despite the ongoing horsepower debate in the community with veteran drivers like Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. vouching for more power, the Food City 500’s happy accident really regulated the pace of the field. Instead of heeding the power demands, NASCAR and Goodyear pulled off an unexpected one as the intent tire wear at the repaved BMS surface separated the best team, the driver from the rest.

In fact, only five drivers who started the race could finish it on the lead lap as most of the field, including champions, lost their way in the 500-lap circus. Speaking on the popular DBC podcast, Dale Jr. pointed out the anomaly, exposing NASCAR’s discrepancy, and laying it on the line.

“That’s a tough situation” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. exposes NASCAR’s discrepancy in Bristol 

Dale Jr. was one of the prominent ones who reacted to Goodyear’s new compound faring at the newly repaved concrete surface in Bristol. Even after the first 30 laps of the race, drivers were seen heading into the pit lane for tire changes due to the peculiar resin that was used on the surface that ripped off the rubber from the tires. While this was frustrating for drivers like Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch, who both had a difficult time adjusting and improvising to the situation, others like Denny Hamlin and his teammates quickly became content in the chaos, timing the pit stops and using it to their advantage.

Even though Dale Jr. gave props to Goodyear, during his take, he exposed the organization’s disparity in calling cautions. He said, “That’s a tough situation they’re in because they’re out of tires. They didn’t have enough tires to finish the race, so they didn’t want to throw yellows because they knew people were going to come down pit road and put on tires and then they definitely were going to run out of tires. So it was a tough situation. They didn’t want it to turn into a sh*t show, but they also knew they couldn’t throw a ton of yellows.” 

Further adding to his point, the veteran said, “This is what’s frustrating about these races were there are some things that’s frustrating about it. If you’re on a pit box you know NASCAR is going to alter their, you know. NASCAR, whether they want to believe it or not, they call yellow’s differently in certain races for different reasons right for different reasons right?”

Elaborating on this front, the JR Motorsports co-owner mentioned things from a team member’s side, saying, “If I’m a crew chief on the pit box and this starts happening, I’m like how do they call cautions today because of this right and I thought that they would be quicker to throw a yellow as a car gets into a wall car gets sideways, yellow, because we don’t want to have cars blowing tires and we don’t want to have this sh*t that happened at Indy to happen here.” 

Dale Jr. gives props to Goodyear

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Denny Hamlin‘s parity claim and the industry’s horsepower claims all took a break after Bristol. As we mentioned, the race wasn’t what everyone expected. Considering the Next-Gen platform’s issues on the short track, NASCAR had its hands full, constantly testing the aero package to meet its drivers’ demands. But instead of bumping up the power, they made aero changes, incorporating a new diffuser, and splitter to get passing back in the game.

However, what played a crucial role in the season’s first half-a-mile race was Goodyear’s new compound exclusive for the short tracks. This, along with the resin coated on the concrete surface, gave more than ample traction so much so that the rubber was shredded off the tires like a cheese grater, giving the power back to the driver to make a difference.

Junior, realizing this, sang praise for the manufacturer, tweeting, “Bravo @GoodyearRacingThese drivers have got to be smart with these tires today. We will see who can balance pushing toward the front vs. killing their tires. This is fun to watch.”

What did you think about the race? Was it fun? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

READ MORE: Denny Hamlin Exposes Carefree NASCAR’s Deception Toward Fans Holding Back Horsepower Solution