Alex Bowman, who earned pole position in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, ran 70 consecutive laps in practice without any problems. In the spring, tire failures were appearing in about half that time.
“Yeah, I mean I think it’s back to where it was a year ago," explained Bowman. "I didn’t really see any unusual wear. They don’t fall off that much. So definitely curious as to what the variable is there, right? I think there’s a lot of smart people that will figure out what that variable is; between the tests here, the spring race and everything, with the same stuff causing different results.
"I think we’re in for Bristol a year ago, more than Bristol from the spring. Unless all the rubber comes up off the track overnight for whatever reason, I think that would create the spring race again. But barring that happening, I think it’ll be kind of normal Bristol again.”
That's unfortunate news for fans that were hoping to see a repeat of the chaotic race from earlier this year, which was action-packed and featured 54 lead changes -- shattering the previous Bristol record of 40 set over three decades earlier.
A lot of guessing
Another factor in all this is the application of PJ1 traction compound along the bottom groove of the track on Saturday morning, while also cleaning off the top groove following the Xfinity race. It's unclear how that will affect things during the race. NASCAR made this decision after conversations Goodyear, drivers, and the track itself.
Martin Truex Jr. says his team has been reviewing data and video all week, "trying to kind of understand or guess somewhat -- because the hard part about this track is it changes a lot.
"You never quite know what you are going to get – are we going to race the bottom or are we going to race the top? Are the tires going to wear out like they did in the spring or is it going to be like last fall? There is always a lot of questions when you come here, but I think we have a game plan that we feel like is the right way to approach it for us, and we will just be able to take it one step at a time.”
Joey Logano is one driver in tonight's race who doesn't have to worry, as he is already locked into the Round of 12 after winning the playoff opener at Atlanta.
“Not as stressful for me as it is for others," joked the two-time NASCAR Cup champion. Asked about the tire wear, he noted that "it’s a huge variable. It might be the biggest one."
Like Truex, the Team Penske star is unsure of what to expect. Heading into practice, he predicted that the teams would see major fall-off, but that didn't appear to be the case.
No issues in practice
There were no tire issues in practice and lap-times only dropped by around two to three tenths over the course of a 30-lap run. Logano averaged 15.661s over the first five laps, dropping only to 15.991s by the time he completed 30 circuits.
"I’m sure a lot of teams probably made some changes to their cars from last time," he continued. "That will help that. I thought it was great last time. It’s entertaining to watch, just watching the race back. There was so much going on, almost too much going on to where you can’t actually keep up with it all, but it definitely threw quite the old slider on us that we weren’t ready to see. This time, everyone will be more prepared.”
As it stands, it's unlikely we will get a show that mirrors the spring race, but should tire wear become a problem, Denny Hamlin only hopes NASCAR remains steady with the timing of caution flags.
“Just consistency on whatever is a caution early, it is the same caution that is late," said Hamlin, who has won the last two Cup races at Bristol. "If you are willing to let guys run around the bottom or the top with a flat tire, let them do that at the end of the race as well. Just consistency as far as that is concerned. If it is called tight in the beginning, call it tight at the end. If it is called loose in the beginning, call it loose at the end. Those are kind of the only consistencies that competition would be looking for.”
