Nobody Knows What Bristol Will Throw at Them This Time

gettyimages-2209936227 — BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - APRIL 12: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, 2025 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Sharing is caring

After the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway last March, when extreme tire wear was a decisive factor, drivers and crew chiefs were at a loss to form expectations for the Night Race in September.

Chris Buescher participated in a Goodyear tire test between races, and the results of that session indicated tire fall-off would still be a major issue.

“We didn’t see what happened in the spring coming whatsoever, and we went to the fall expecting it, and it didn’t happen,” Buescher said. “We did the tire rest last year before the fall race, and it had all kinds of significant wear, and we were prepared for that when we came back, and it just did not happen.

“I don’t know what to make out of that. I don’t know what we’ll see this go-around. I really don’t. I hope we get back to the point where we have somewhere in-between the two, really. I’d love to be able to go 60 or 70 laps and wear out a set of tires, not 30 or 40 — and certainly not 250.”

Kyle Larson won last year’s Night Race after leading 462 of 500 laps in what was more of a traditional Bristol race on the high-banked concrete surface, with minimal tire wear.

That said, the expectations for this year’s spring race are anybody’s guess.

Even though Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is a month later on the schedule this year, the temperature will be similar to the conditions drivers experienced last March—chilly.

A major difference is that the 0.533-mile racing surface has been sprayed with PJ1 Trackbite in the bottom lane, as opposed to the resin used last year.

“The majority of time it’s been three or four feet of PJ1 on the bottom,” said Buescher, who won the Night Race in 2022. “We’ve had some instances where somebody missed the line a little bit, and we’ve had 10 feet of PJ1, and that was no good. We’ve ended up with resin, and I think we’re going back to PJ1 because we don’t think that was any good.

“We put dirt on it—that was a terrible idea,” quipped Buescher, whose best finish was 14th when the racing surface was topped with dirt for three consecutive races in the spring. “I’m just kidding. I just didn’t like the dirt. It was a great idea. I appreciate the action to it, but I like me some Bristol concrete.”