NASCAR Cup practice raises questions about softer tires at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Justin Haley and Ryan Blaney tied for the fastest lap in NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol that raised questions about new, softer tire compound.
Haley and Blaney both ran a lap of 15.307 seconds in practice. The top 13 drivers were a tenth off of their hot laps, including these playoff drivers:
Chase Briscoe (15.328), Denny Hamlin (15.347), Chase Elliott (15.358), Ross Chastain (15.397), Christopher Bell (15.402) and Bubba Wallace (15.406).
Wallace had a moment in turn four. While trying the outside lane, he had to get all the way out of the gas to not smack the wall.
Other playoff drivers fared as follows in practice: Alex Bowman (15.436), Austin Cindric (15.438), William Byron (15.537), Kyle Larson (15.570), Shane van Gisbergen (15.583), Austin Dillon (15.584), Joey Logano (15.601), Tyler Reddick (15.636) and Josh Berry (15.709).
How did the tire wear fare?
This weekend, Cup teams have a softer Goodyear tire compound at Bristol Motor Speedway. It comes after two lackluster races with minimal tire wear from a compound that produced high wear during a March 2024 race that saw a record 54 lead changes and positive reception from drivers and fans alike.
The race produced softer tire compounds at other tracks, like Richmond last month.
In practice and the race, drivers experienced multi-second lap time falloff. They could also hardly run 50 laps on the same set of tires. All of that produced a far different – and more well-received – style of racing.
How did the softer tires fare in practice at Bristol? Drivers easily ran 75 laps on the same set of tires. Lap time falloff was around two tenths after 10 laps, half-a-second after 30 laps and eight tenths after 75 laps.
Yet, qualifying saw drivers fighting for grip in a manner similar to the March 2024 qualifying session.
When you factor in the PJ1 on the bottom of the track likely wearing off and forcing drivers to grooves with no rubber down, there are likely more questions than answers coming into Saturday night.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com