“The concrete track always puts on a good race, and selfishly, we run better on the concrete.” is what 2024 Daytona 500 winner William Byron had to say about NASCAR’s decision to return to concrete at Bristol Motor Speedway. After three years of brilliant racing on the makeshift clay court, the sport opted to return Bristol to its concrete glory after the novelty had worn off.

With many drivers, including Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney, also joining Byron to state their excitement at the concrete coliseum’s return, all eyes were on practice and qualifying. However, after teams faced major troubles from track degradation, the drivers aren’t feeling too pleased with the transition back to the tarmac.

Unexpected comments on NASCAR’s Bristol change

As drivers and teams got ready for the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, there was a certain sense of excitement in the air. While the Cup Series’ return to dirt racing was much anticipated ever since the 1970s, the sport was ready to return to Bristol’s iconic concrete. Unfortunately, it seems like all the red clay on the track over the past three years may have hurt the tarmac, giving drivers and teams a major headache during qualifying.

William Byron, the man on a mission with Rudy Fugle to bring home the championship this year, was left disappointed with the transition to concrete, despite advocating for it before. The #24 driver shared with PRNLive, “This track change is quite a bit drastic from last year.” Reflecting on the sudden loss of grip on the resin lane, Byron felt that Group A’s run was enough to upset the grip levels for the following runs. The fact that Byron fell from P6 after practice to P8 after qualifying showcased the degradation.

On the other hand, P3 sitter Denny Hamlin was also stumped by the degradation after the practice session and shared his opinion with Wendy Venturini. “It’s a lot different than last year. I’ve never seen anything like it. Really, really strange what’s going on.”

Throughout practice, drivers had to constantly battle with the edge of traction as they tried to set a solid lap. Ultimately, the tires just didn’t feel right to Denny Hamlin, as he said, “I think someone pee-peed in the Goodyear rubber mixture.” The pace drop-off between Group A and Group B was significant enough for Chase Elliott to also share his astonishment. He was quoted by Jeff Gluck as saying, “I don’t really think any of that was reality. … I’ve never experienced anything like that before. That was super weird.”

Similarly, Martin Truex Jr also mentioned the low grip from the marble in the resin lane. Reflecting on how most drivers and teams were feeling rather defeated after the practice session itself, Joey Logano shared, “It’s made everyone feel pretty bad about their car,”

Additionally, while speaking to Wendy Venturini, Michael McDowell was sounded by the strange grip conditions at Bristol. He stated, “Normally this time of day you have a bunch of grip but it’s super slick out there. I just went as slow as possible and it wound up being fast somehow.” With drivers stating that missing out on the resin lane could end up in disaster, having a steady lap was the key to success. Brad Keselowski highlighted the narrow margin of error; “If you slip just a little bit, you’re done.”

After taking a look at the driver consensus surrounding the track degradation at Bristol, has NASCAR’s prior decision to run dirt racing created a problematic surface? While many were eager to return to the tarmac, the issues stemming from the concrete may leave some drivers wishing that the red clay was still around.

Ryan Blaney secures pole despite others’ troubles

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Following NASCAR’s announcement of the dirt surface at Bristol, many drivers were excited for the first race but felt the novelty wear off as time progressed. Even Kyle Larson, a dirt racing veteran, preferred the high banks of Bristol’s concrete surface over the red clay. With NASCAR incorporating an increasing number of road courses, the prospect of the dirt track expansion kept a lot of fans excited. Summing up what could have been, Ryan Blaney had a rather neutral take compared to other drivers.

“I enjoyed the dirt race, and I thought every year it got better,” shared Ryan Blaney with News18. He added, “The first year the track wasn’t very good. The second year it got better. And then last year I thought the track was awesome. It was very racy, and very slick from top to bottom. You could have options and lanes, but it’s good. Maybe in a few years, you could throw dirt on it again, but I had no big feelings about it either way.”

So after Ryan Blaney sealed his first-ever pole position at Bristol, it’s safe to say that the reigning champion’s neutrality may have helped pull luck to his side. While the #12 driver also suffered from unpredictability, he felt that the challenge was a welcome one. With that said, only time will tell if the track is truly “weird” as the laps unfold during tomorrow’s race.

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