What’s Happening?

With so much expectation heading into the race, talks about tire falloff, and uncertainty, we all expected a good race, somewhat similar to what we saw last spring, a race that broke the record for lead changes at the racetrack. Instead, we got one of the worst races ever at Bristol. Despite severe tire wear in practice, that was not seen at all during the race, as in hotter temperatures, the track took more rubber, helping the tires last from about 35 laps in practice to well over 170 during the race. It was, again, the Kyle Larson show, just like last fall and last Saturday. The good part is that we have much to take away from that race; the bad part is that they are mostly negative.

Learn more about the race HERE

Kyle Larson Dominates (again) at Bristol

Larson started P3, and after 40 laps, he worked his way past Alex Bowman for the race lead. He led every single one of the following 350 laps and only lost that lead because of a green-flag pit cycle. With that win, Larson now has 3 at Bristol, all of them in the last 6.

After dominating the Xfinity race on Saturday and now the Cup Series, I doubt Larson is any sad about not winning the Truck race, but it certainly must stink being so close to the three-peat on the weekend for the second time this year. Still, Larson now has led the most laps out of anyone going into the Easter break, and with 2 wins in the last 3 races, he seems like a title favorite again.

This Car Desperately Needs Change, Banking on Tire Wear is NOT the Right Choice.

Since the introduction of the Next-Gen car, we’ve had a major problem with short-track racing on the Cup Series. However, NASCAR has tried to put it all on Goodyear to improve the product. Sometimes, you get what you want, but most of the time, you won’t, and the latter was the case on Sunday night.

Fans are unhappy with NASCAR and need to work on this product as soon as possible. Tires are a good change, but they don’t matter if your car doesn’t provide opportunities for passing. Cars could run 200+ laps on tires at Bristol; they were pitting because they needed fuel, and is that a Goodyear problem? The easy answer for NASCAR is yes, because then all they have to do is ask them to make softer tires, but how far can that go? For how much longer will NASCAR neglect that they have a CAR problem and not a TIRE problem? Fact is: Goodyear is not to be blamed; the Gen 7 car is, thus, NASCAR.

Fox’s Broadcast has hit Rock Bottom.

The question here is not when they will improve, nor if, but how much lower they can go. The leader is crossing the line after leading 90% of the race, and instead of Mike Joy praising that masterclass of a performance, we have Bowyer talking about how he was unable to sweep the weekend. Are we serious?

The booth isn’t the worst part, as the cameras cannot catch cars wrecking in a half-mile racetrack, or even when they do, they cut it away to a shot in which you can’t see it happening. Not to mention the absurd amount of commercials per race, including during pit stops and rare side-by-side battles in a race that desperately needed actions on screen. It’s become unbearable, and it’s curious to see how much longer that will last.

Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing Command the Field.

On a more positive note, if you’re a Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsports fan, those two teams have won 8 of the first 9 races on the season (5 for Joe Gibbs, 3 for Hendrick) and are 1 through 5 in points. It’s easy to say they’ve been the class of the field.

Gibbs had gone months without a win; in 2024, they did not have a single car on the championship four for the first time ever, which led to changes. Well, those changes seem to be working very nicely up to this point. On the other hand, Hendrick has the same formula they’ve had for long, but it clearly doesn’t need change; has been doing it for them. Those two teams are on pace to take all four slots in the championship race at Phoenix, and it’s unclear which one has the advantage

Conclusion

Now that the race weekend is past and we head into a one-week break from the Cup Series, what have you been thinking of this season so far, race fan? Let us know by joining the conversation on our Discord or X. Remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.