NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Tire surprise at Bristol produces record-breaking race

Kyle Busch has not been able to dominate Truck Series races as he has in the past. Even at Bristol, a track he excels on no matter what series he’s racing in. This weekend though, Busch was faced with a poorly handling truck.

That didn’t stop Busch from leading a lot of laps and giving Christian Eckes all he could handle in this race. Eckes wouldn’t be denied at Bristol a second time, winning the pole and the race and solidifying himself as a championship contender.

Nick Sanchez makes another veteran enemy

There is something about Nick Sanchez and veteran drivers, they just don’t mix. This time, Sanchez earned the ire of Stewart Friesen. However, it was fairly obvious that Friesen was just as much to blame for their on-track contact as anyone.

Friesen approached Sanchez, they exchanged words, and the 40-year-old driver didn’t like what he heard. This almost escalated into a fistfight, but the two separated before it got to that point. Sanchez has a win this year already, the opener at Daytona.

Trackhouse development driver impresses at Sebring

Now, before we get into the Cup Series drama and action, we have to take a small detour to IMSA and Sebring. 17-year-old Connor Zilisch followed up his 24 Hours of Daytona win with an LMP2 victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Not only did Zilisch win, he brought the car home for his ERA Motorsport team. A restart with 23 minutes remaining made this a mad dash to the finish line by IMSA standards and Zilisch came out on top, besting veterans of the sport in only his second-ever start.

NASCAR teams surprised by tire wear at Bristol

During practice and qualifying, the Cup Series drivers and teams noticed that grip was not what it was in the fall. As teams got into the marbles even a bit, they were losing control on their laps.

No one expected that these tires wouldn’t lay ANY rubber on the track. However, a few people had concerns prior to the Food City 500. Richard Childress claimed that he talked to NASCAR before the race, but it didn’t change anything. Teams did get an extra set of tires in this race that helped get everyone to the end.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and others praise Food City 500 race

Among those watching at home was none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the Hall of Famer loved what he saw. He wasn’t alone, either. Former Cup Series driver Kasey Kahne reported that he also enjoyed the race.

What these tires did was force teams to adjust. Drivers had to adjust. You couldn’t slam the gas and brakes around the track and make good time, you had to manage everything. That’s old-school racing and it’s no wonder the old-school drivers loved what they saw on Sunday.

Goodyear makes PR statement mid-race

When everyone was still stressed about this becoming an Indy 2008 situation, Goodyear panicked a bit. Greg Stucker took questions from the media to give some answers for what we were seeing on the track.

It turns out, Goodyear wasn’t too sure what was going on either. The NASCAR tire manufacturer was perplexed and will have to look at the data before making any conclusions. For what it’s worth, NASCAR liked what they saw and might encourage it a bit later this year.

Kyle Busch hits crew member on pit road

For all of the tire issues, there weren’t too many wrecks in the Food City 500. However, there was a scary moment on pit road when Kyle Busch ran into one of his crew members on a botched pit stop.

This was a bad day and weekend for Busch, ultimately. He didn’t win the Truck Series race, he struggled all day in the Cup Series, and this pit stop was the perfect visual illustration of the first five weeks of the season for Rowdy.

Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR tire battle at Bristol

One driver you won’t hear complaining at all about the Food City 500, Denny Hamlin. He was able to manage his tires and beat out Martin Truex Jr. in the last green flag run.

It wasn’t enough that Hamlin won the race, he had to show off just how much tire he saved as he burned them down after the win. This was a great race from Hamlin, he now has 52 career wins in the Cup Series and four wins at Bristol.

Ryan Blaney doesn’t want to talk Ross Chastain

For the third week in a row and fourth time in six races going back to the Phoenix championship race, Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain finished one after the other. These two cannot get away from each other.

Of course, this week, Chastain gave a little bumper and door to Blaney, further instigating the rivalry between the two. After the race, Blaney wouldn’t even answer a question about Chastain and the incident on the track.

NASCAR discovered something at Bristol, now they need to recreate it

Here is the thing that likely makes this whole situation more complicated – no one knows how this happened. It is the same tire from the fall. The main differences you can look at are likely the resin on the track and the temperatures. If the track doesn’t get warm enough, the rubber shreds, it doesn’t press into the concrete.

With all of the data that NASCAR and Goodyear have, surely there is something to tell them how to recreate this beautiful mess they made. Let’s see those tires run to about 80 laps and watch the racing at Bristol and other short tracks thrive. What a weekend for racing, what a weekend for NASCAR. Onto COTA.