“We didn’t need more horsepower today,” Denny Hamlin said after his win at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this season. It was strange to hear him say such a thing, but given the nature of tire-wear racing, he may have felt that racing would be better for him in the future.
Therefore, tire wear provides more horsepower instead of asking for it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen as the race was the same as before and Bristol was just an exception. NASCAR continues to push for more engine power, making tire wear the only solution to improving racing. But the young JGR riders on the “Happy Hour” podcast aren’t convinced that tire wear is the answer.
Joe Gibbs Racing stars share their thoughts on tire wear at Bristol
Interestingly, JGR’s roster is a mix of experienced racers like Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., but also young, up-and-coming talent like Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs. There are some too. The veterans of the sport raced on Bristol’s limited set of tires and ran at full speed. Meanwhile, the two young stars struggled to keep up with their teammates. Kevin Harvick coined the question, “Tire wear or performance?” in an attempt to put drivers’ attitudes on this debate into perspective.
Knowing that NASCAR would not compromise on his performance demands, Martin Truex Jr. opted for tire wear and detailed his reasons for doing so. The tires were in good shape at Bristol. “At Bristol the left side didn’t wear at all, but the right side was gone. Even if that were the case, I would still be able to do 60 laps tomorrow, no problem, 100 percent.
However, Christopher Bell quickly took the brunt of the tire damage and was surprised at how Hamlin and Truex Jr. lasted so long. “I left Bristol frustrated because it felt like a crew chief race and Denny drove the car to the right and Martin drove the car to the right and I was following them and they and well below the tires… If you look at the data, all of our things are very easy, some cars can do it, some cars can’t do it. ” Race winner Denny Hamlin agreed with his solution of finding the perfect balance of tire wear in the upcoming races. “Bristol is a bit extreme, there’s no doubt about that. You need certain aspects that allow you to achieve 100 percent. I agree; each round was about 90% at best. But teams can adjust here too.
Unless nothing changes. You can go back to the same tires, same conditions. I strongly believe that teams solve most problems. ”
This wasn’t the only disagreement between the drivers, with Harvick asking for opinions on the restart zone. Providing them with two options to choose from.
Denny Hamlin has the solution to tackle the restart zone chaos
Restart zones have become a talking point ever since Hamlin won the race at Richmond in a controversial manner. This was a huge blow to his teammate Truex Jr, who lost his lead to Hamlin while coming out of the pits. NASCAR called it a “bang-bang” quick decision and a right call. However, despite acknowledging that the No. 11 car jumped on the restart, Martin Truex Jr stood firm on his case, stating, “Whatever they set the rule at, just call it. I mean, we need a visual.”
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin stated that whatever the change is, the leader should have the edge going into restarts. “The leader should have an advantage. Because right now, you just see everyone’s timing their run to the leader. So the bigger the area, the better. But agree, call it whatever it is.”
What are your thoughts about the restart zone? And is tire wear the silver bullet to solve the issues surrounding the NextGen car?
