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Concrete or dirt? That has long been the topic of conversation in NASCAR’s return to Bristol Motor Speedway for the spring race. The series decided to ditch the dirt in favor of a return to concrete, and it paid off – big time.
Denny Hamlin was not the only winner in the Food City 500 this year. Fans were treated to an incredible race, featuring a major tire management storyline. Goodyear brought back the same tires as last fall, but they would not rubber the track, causing a number of failures and cording that had drivers on the edge of control.
Just 50 laps into the 500-mile race, teams were thrown a massive curveball.
Tire strategy has been a theme before, but this was different. So much so that NASCAR made the decision to allow teams to have an additional set of tires during the race. Even with that, teams and drivers knew it would be difficult to make it to the end.
The situation played out perfectly, with a long green-flag run to finish the race. Not only did drivers have to deal with traffic, but this new wrinkle took the drama up a notch or two. Cars began to drop like flies in the final 20 laps, as teammates battled for the lead while navigating traffic.
Hamlin lost the lead to Martin Truex Jr but was able to get it back by moving Bubba Wallace (the car he co-owns with Michael Jordan) a few laps later. Brad Keselowski came home in third place for RFK Racing. It was no coincidence that veterans found their way to the front.
Fans certainly enjoyed the product, but they were not alone. Drivers, crew chiefs, team owners, and officials all praised the show on Sunday. Still, not everyone was convinced.
Diving into the numbers, there were 54 lead changes among 16 drivers. That is a new short-track record for the series. Only five cars managed to finish on the lead lap in this race. The last time that happened at Bristol was 30 years ago, in the 1994 spring race.
The decision to get rid of the dirt was absolutely the right one. It produced an exceptional race, but not many people saw it. The attendance looked poor but the television rating should be through the roof.
The Case for More Horsepower
This race also strengthened the case for adding more horsepower. That was a major talking point over the past week, with no real reason being given for why NASCAR wouldn’t try it. Presumably, it would allow the stronger cars/drivers to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
Obviously, the series wants to have cars as close as possible to keep fans entertained. Giving drivers more horsepower will certainly spread the field out more. As Hamlin mentioned on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, some drivers will be able to handle the extra power better than others.
One theory against it was that it was the same for everyone. Bumping the horsepower up for everyone won’t change anything. This race squashes that theory, as the tires were the same for everyone. The falloff was the same. So why were some drivers able to handle it, and some weren’t?
Putting more of the power in the hands of the drivers will make a massive difference, just as we saw at Bristol. If two drivers are battling and one makes a mistake, the other should be able to take advantage.
Toyota Continues to Dominate
One of the biggest storylines heading into this year was Ford’s new Dark Horse Mustang. Well, five races into the season they have yet to win a race. Ford has shown speed in qualifying and Chevrolet has three wins, but Toyota appears to have the edge early in the season.
Toyota has won the last two races, in pretty dominating fashion. Christopher Bell went to victory lane at Phoenix last weekend, as the manufacturer led 298 of the 312 laps. The Camry was simply on a different planet.
That continued at Bristol, where all six Toyota drivers combined to lead 402 of the 500 laps. It was a one-two finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, as all four cars finished inside the top-ten.
There likely will not be another race like this for a long, long time. It was difficult to describe in one word, but an entertaining blast from the past. Welcome back, Bristol.
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