Tricky track bites some Cup drivers in Bristol qualifying
BRISTOL, Tenn. — “The grip level flipped like a light switch.”
Chris Buescher was blunt in his assessment of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Why?
“Resin wore off pretty quickly,” Buescher said in a social media post after qualifying.
Buescher had room to talk as he will start 34th after having a sketchy moment during his qualifying run.
He wasn’t the only one who had issues.
Ross Chastain will start shotgun on the field — 36th — after sliding out of the groove in turn three and nearly wrecking.
Arguably no one got closer to wrecking than Carson Hocevar. His car threw back to the dirt race weekend, sliding sideways off of turn two and bringing his second qualifying lap to a screeching — but not crashing — halt.
Hocevar will start 35th, alongside Buescher and behind Justin Haley who had a major wobble in the middle of turns three and four during his lap.
These four drivers weren’t the only ones who had issues in qualifying. Even pole sitter Ryan Blaney pointed out how quickly the grip changed and was on-edge. Kyle Larson, who was one of the fastest drivers in round one, also couldn’t get past the grip issues to make a serious run at the pole.
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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