NASCAR handed teams control of wet-to-slick tire calls at Bristol on Saturday, and going forward, adding new strategy to Denny Hamlin’s shrinking Chase lead.
The change follows weeks of criticism over how NASCAR forced a tire switch at New Hampshire, and arrives the same week Kyle Larson closed to within nine points of the Chase lead.
NASCAR officials will still decide whether a race starts on wet-weather tires at Bristol and the other ovals cleared for wet-weather racing. Once the green flag drops and a rain caution turns the surface damp, crew chiefs now choose between wets and slicks on their own, a shift reported by NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck.
If NASCAR deems pit road itself damp, caution-flag stops become non-competitive, meaning cars that pit fall in line behind those that stayed out, while green-flag stops remain a fair fight for position.
“We always listen to fan and industry feedback,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said of the update, as quoted by NASCAR.com. “Giving teams the freedom to make their own calls in wet-weather situations on ovals is another example of how we’re working to improve and put on the best possible show for our fans.”
NASCAR event management president John Probst added that officials will be watching closely how crews put the wet-weather sets to work this weekend, calling the collaboration with race teams on the update “fantastic.”
Bristol Weather Forecast Meets NASCAR’s New Tire Rule
Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race carries a real, if not severe, rain threat. The track faces a chance of showers Saturday, with a high near 87 degrees and a thunderstorm possible in the afternoon and evening hours, according to AccuWeather’s forecast data.
That points to a damp start or a mid-race shower rather than a washout, and the new tire policy does not touch the two calls that actually create delays. NASCAR alone still decides whether the race begins on wet-weather tires, and NASCAR alone still decides when conditions turn unsafe enough to stop the field entirely. The rule change only kicks in after the green flag, once officials have already called a rain caution.
If anything, a stoppage becomes slightly less likely once racing starts. The old procedure often forced a competition caution just to swap the whole field to slicks at once, as happened Aug. 23 at New Hampshire. Teams can now make that call individually as the track dries, closer to how road courses already handle wet conditions, according to Racing America.
Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin Lead Chase Standings Into Bristol
DraftKings Sportsbook lists Larson as the favorite at plus-400 heading into Saturday, with Hamlin at plus-500, Ryan Blaney at plus-550, Ty Gibbs at plus-650 and Christopher Bell at plus-750.
Hamlin still leads the Chase, but Larson trails by only nine points after breaking a 51-race winless streak last weekend at Gateway, a five-spot jump in the standings, according to NASCAR.com. Bell sits third, 18 points back, with Blaney fourth, 33 points back, and Gibbs sixth, 51 points back.
Larson has three wins and nine top-five finishes in his last 12 Bristol starts, and Gibbs won there last spring in a photo finish over Blaney. A wrong tire call in a drying window can bury any of them, and with 20 to 40 points sometimes separating one bad restart from another, Saturday night hands Hamlin’s rivals a new tool for closing the gap before Kansas.
Will NASCAR Race at Bristol in the Rain? Here’s What the New Policy Changes