What’s Happening?

Bristol Motor Speedway staged one of the most controversial races in recent memory on Sunday. Tire wear was extreme, and the race was all about managing tires. Some drivers loved the race, but, others did not like it. What did drivers have to say about tire management?

• Some drivers enjoyed the tire management race at Bristol. They had fun being forced to manage their tires, which was reminiscent of “Old School” races.
• Other drivers did not enjoy it. They felt that the tire wear was too extreme, and they felt that it distracted them from actually racing.
• Fans generally liked the race on Sunday, but, not everyone did. Their thoughts were similar to the thoughts of many drivers.

Read Also:

Everything That Happened in the Cup Race at Bristol

Drivers Who LOVED The Race

Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski admitted that Sunday’s race was maybe a bit extreme when talking to the media. However, he did enjoy the race overall, and he had fun.

The driver’s have been asking for the tires to wear out more. We got it! If we were like a 2 on a 10, scale this was a 9 or a 10. Maybe there’s a middle ground somewhere, but it was definitely a different race. I had a lot of fun. I felt like you had to be really smart. It reminded me of one of Matt Weaver’s short track late model races for a while.

Brad Keselowski via Fronststretch

John Hunter Nemechek

John Hunter Nemechek was not nearly as elaborate in his answer as some others were, but, he enjoyed the race overall. Finishing a solid 6th probably helped as well.

I enjoyed it. We played our cards right. and had a lot of fun doing it.

John Hunter Nemechek via DannyBTalks

Justin Haley

Kelly Crandall caught up with Justin Haley after the race, and Haley claimed that he loved the race. He enjoyed having to manage tires throughout a race instead of being all-out the entire time.

Justin Haley: “I loved it. I don’t know what social media says, but as a driver, I thought it was fun because you had to manage it. You weren’t all-out the whole time, so it was fun to have a major part in how the car ran.”

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) March 18, 2024

Retired Drivers

Many retired drivers took to social media to express how much they enjoyed the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was particularly happy with the race.

I loved everything about that race today. #NASCAR @ItsBristolBaby

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 17, 2024

For those who did not enjoy the race, Earnhardt Jr. believes that, if the teams are given enough time, they will adjust and make the tires last longer the next time they come.

The legend @Tjmajors tells me they went over 70 laps on the final set of tires. He’s never wrong. About anything. Just ask him. Give these teams a week to adjust, run this race next weekend and I bet they go 80-100 laps before concerns.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 18, 2024

Kasey Kahne also broke his silence on social media. He loved how different the race was compared to others.

It was fun watching a @nascar race unfold like that. Much different than usual. I enjoyed trying to think how all the drivers were managing their race. Pretty cool

— Kasey Kahne (@kaseykahne) March 17, 2024

Landon Cassill also said that he enjoyed the race. He liked the extra element of tire management missing from many races in the past.

We may get to see one of the best all around races at Bristol in the past several years today. Love seeing the teams have to manage their tires like this

— landon cassill (@landoncassill) March 17, 2024

Drivers On the Fence

Josh Berry

Josh Berry told Fronstretch that he actually enjoyed the race on Sunday, but, that doesn’t mean he wants to see something like this every week. He feels that there is a better way forward than tires being this big of a factor throughout the weekend.

It was definitely interesting, right. The restarts were tough. I think you wanted to be on the bottom in the resin for grip, but you wanted to try to get some track position on the top. The top wasn’t laying down rubber, that was wearing the tires worse . It was a trade-off. It was definitely really interesting, but I hate that it, it’s probably entertaining, I’m not going to lie it was kind of fun, but, obviously, this is not what we need going forward.

Josh Berry via Fronststretch

Alex Bowman (0:25)

Alex Bowman was also of the opinion that today’s race was a little bit too extreme. However, drivers do enjoy having a tire that wears out, so, there is a trade-off. He did say, however, that the drivers told NASCAR to swap out the resin with PJ1 to which NASCAR did not listen.

Behind the wheel, we all want tires that wear out, and that we have to manage. This was just too far probably. I think only being able to go 40 Laps on tires at Bristol is difficult. The tire didn’t change from the last couple years, so it’s not the tire. It’s the the resin. We all told them to put PJ1 down last night instead of resin, and nobody listened and this happened. It’s a tough box.

Alex Bowman via DannyBTalks

Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. finished 2nd on Sunday, so, he enjoyed the finish. He enjoyed the high tire wear, but, he still feels there needs to be some changes made to make sure the tire wear is not that extreme on the right sides.

Obviously, it’s good when the tires wear like that obviously. The left sides didn’t wear at all which is a problem. We need to figure out how to make the left s side’s wear too, and then the right side’s not quite as much.

Martin Truex Jr. via Frontstretch

Drivers Who HATED The Race

Ryan Blaney

While Blaney’s comments about Ross Chastain got most of the press, Blaney still had some strong words about the tire wear. He called the race a “S**tshow”, and he compared the race to fuel saving at Daytona.

I didn’t have fun. What’s fun about riding around, creepping aorund there, can’t run 50 laps unless you blow a tire. You’ve got guys with blowing stuff creeping around the race track…It reminded me of the Daytona fuel saving, that’s what it was.

Ryan Blaney

This race was beloved by some drivers, but, not everyone believes it should be repeated. Who was right?