If there is any drama, expect it to be in Bristol. A few hours ago, a crash at the Xfinity series race took Sheldon Creed and Bennan Poole out. However, last year, the 0.533-mile short track displayed wildly different races in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Spring race showcased a unique case of extreme tire wear with over 50 lead changes. In contrast, the Fall race saw little to no lead changes, with Kyle Larson dominating. One factor set these apart. And the difference maker? NASCAR’s application of the PJ1 compound. A similar plan is underway for the upcoming Bristol Cup Series race, but Ty Gibbs is not too eager.

The 22-year-old racer grew up racing with PJ1. Since the Nashville race in June 2021, PJ1 resin has been on the cards. Around the same time, Atlanta Motor Speedway underwent a reconfiguration and also got a PJ1 treatment. The compounds acted differently in Bristol – hence, Ty Gibbs is apprehensive about an Atlanta mimicry.

Ty Gibbs scratches his head about NASCAR’s endeavor

Ahead of the 2024 Food City 500 race, NASCAR officials sprayed resin in the corners’ lower lane. That has been the most-cited reason for the thrilling race! However, the ensuing Bristol Night Race last September witnessed the application of the PJ1 Trackbite compound. After that, Kyle Larson went on to lead for 462 of 500 laps, much to the chagrin of eager fans. For the upcoming race, NASCAR and track officials have elected to go the entire weekend this time with PJ1 Trackbite, which is a sticky substance applied to the track via a spray. The community may not welcome NASCAR’s decision to with the Fall race’s formula. Before fans could react, Ty Gibbs already delivered a negative response.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been on a misery streak in 2025. Only recently has he turned it around, fetching a 13th-place finish in Martinsville and a 9th-place finish in Darlington. So Ty Gibbs is eager to push forward at Bristol Motor Speedway. But NASCAR’s PJ1 Trackbite endeavor may get in his way, as Gibbs confessed in an interview. “Yeah, I’ve always run with it. I don’t really care what it is. I mean, it’s what it is. Sometimes it doesn’t work that good, sometimes it does work good. It’s a little bit cold here, so it might not work great. But maybe that makes us move around too, so we’ll see, I don’t know. We’ll figure it out there in practice.”

When Atlanta was reconfigured, it got four extra degrees of banking from 24 to 28 and a narrower width. Coupled with a full PJ1 treatment – as Bristol is undergoing this weekend – Atlanta disappointed Cup Series drivers. The resulting pack racing annoyed drivers like Kyle Busch, who declared in 2021: “We’re not going to be able to run around here three-wide. You’re going to be stuck at two-wide…So, trying to run around here at 210 mph because if they don’t put plates on it, you’re going to be going way too fast.”

Despite past evidence of discontent, NASCAR is still going ahead with its plan. NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde explained the plan of action in a ‘Hauler Talk’ episode. “We talked to the garage and said, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re looking at,’ so that’s why we did it. So that is the reason why we are doing it again this weekend because of how little the track took rubber. It seems to be only a Bristol issue with the speeds, the banking, the concrete, and those things in concert. We’ve noticed that the PJ1 works a little bit better,” Forde said.

Despite Ty Gibbs being out of favor with PJ1, a Cup Series rival is not. In fact, the latter credited the compound for his repeated success.

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PJ1 favors Hendrick Motorsports driver

Well, if there is one Cup Series driver who is looking forward to a good Bristol race, it is Kyle Larson. With NASCAR using the compound that propelled Larson to victory last fall, the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s chances look golden. However, he is not the only one on the grid with a good advantage. Ever since NASCAR started applying PJ1 to Bristol, Chris Buescher has performed well at the short track. The RFK Racing driver has clinched five top-ten finishes since 2020 – that included a win in September 2022. During that 500-lap race, Buescher made use of a two-tire pit stop late in the race and sped away with the win. He is the only Bristol winner in the last eight races to win from a starting position outside the top five. This history of good performance looks favorable for the No. 6 Ford driver.

Contrary to what Ty Gibbs anticipates, Chris Buescher admitted recently that PJ1 works for him. Upon hearing that the bottom lane will be sprayed with PJ1 Trackbite, Buescher said: “I think that’s been the most consistent thing that we’ve done. The majority of time, it’s been three or four feet of PJ1 on the bottom.” He added, “We’ve been really good at Bristol. We’ve had a good pace. Our team (crew chief) Scott Graves and our whole group have made great strategy calls to find some track position and be able to make some big gains in that sense. We’ve had race cars that have run the bottom really well when (other cars) have gotten strung out on the top, and we’ve been able to pass a lot of cars that way.”

Evidently, the reaction to NASCAR’s PJ1 decision is mixed in the Cup Series garage. We can only wait and see whether Ty Gibbs’ misgivings turn into reality.