“That’s on Us”: NASCAR Senior VP Acquits Goodyear of Bristol’s Tire-Management Controversy Despite ‘Record-Setting’ Verdict

The story began last fall in 2023. The Bass Pro Shops Night race had just concluded and Denny Hamlin had hauled the trophy home. NASCAR decided to test wet-weather tires and tried out PJ1, a sticky compound on the Bristol Motor Speedway. But the result was an oily, slippery one. So they ultimately chose resin against PJ1. And the outcome left drivers jittery on Sunday’s Bristol race.

The resin-injected track began slaughtering Goodyear tires, the same that were used in the past two years. It created a disparity between racers, dividing veterans with a knack for short-track and newbies who are speed addicts. Fingers were pointed at the tire brand for this exciting ruckus. But recently NASCAR has owned up to its faults.

NASCAR eats humble pie for tire dilemma in Bristol

The Food City 500 race had eyes on it for some time. The reasons were its newly repaved concrete track and the new aero package on the 0.533-mile oval. But these factors were soon overshadowed after the race got underway in Bristol. The track sunk its teeth through the soft Goodyear tires, leaving drivers racking their brains on how to last through the race.

This hullabaloo prompted NASCAR to approve an extra set of tires for each team. Meanwhile, chief racing development officer John Probst has owned up to their mistake. “I know on the [tire] allotment, we actually removed a set of tires from the fall race coming into this race. That’s on us, not Goodyear.”

He further said: “There were times in the race, obviously, when there was anxiety around [having] enough tires to finish it. But man, coming out the end and watching all that, I would not want to change much at all, honestly. Just maybe give them more tires [in the fall].”

NASCAR fandom recently waxed ecstatic about the electrifying nature of the race on X. In line with popular opinion, Probst also could not help but appreciate the race. “[It was] certainly a record-setting day for us. I know the race teams are probably pretty worn out right now. I know our track crew and folks up in the booth are pretty worn out just from a pretty exciting day all around on the track. Certainly had some anxiety around some tire wear and things like that. All in all, I think it was probably one of the best short-track races I’ve ever seen.”

Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, is also trying to understand why the track is behaving differently. He said last year’s test aimed to find a set-up leading to more tire wear. But he was overwhelmed with Sunday’s race, calling it ‘drastic’.

Even before the race began, one veteran racer sensed that something was about to turn out different.

Read More: Denny Hamlin Confesses Feeding Off Impatient JGR Teammate to ‘Control the Race’ in Bristol

RCR chief sniffed out possible tire trouble in Bristol

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Soon after the race got underway in concrete Bristol, a hierarchy was established amidst the tire crisis. While some drivers utilized their core racing skills to get ahead, others were not so lucky. Kyle Larson asked over the radio if NASCAR had a crisis management team lined up. RCR driver Kyle Busch spun out twice — once in each of the first two stages.

Busch’s team chief detected the problem even before the race, though. Richard Childress went to NASCAR and warned officials about a potential tire dilemma. “(I) went to the (NASCAR) trailer this morning and told them they were going to have a problem,” he said.

The tire problem has garnered a mixed bag of responses from drivers. While the veterans enjoyed the added challenge, the newbies blamed the faulty tires. Whose side would you take?