With unexpected concrete drama that left fans on the edge of their seats, NASCAR just wrapped up its thrilling Food City Dirt Race in Bristol. Although the short-track package was a new integration with the revamped Bristol track, the focus shifted to tire performance, as Next-Gen car tires wore out faster than expected. The introduction of resin on the track’s bottom lane seems to have caused all the issues.

However, records were broken at the Bristol Concrete Colosseum in terms of green flag passes and stats don’t lie when it comes to the intensity of the race. 

Bristol’s Concrete Colosseum breaks its record 

Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was a race to remember with unexpected turns and thrilling finishes. From the very beginning, the race seemed like a gamble due to the extreme tire decline. Despite the unexpected chaos, the record-breaking number of green flag passes showed that the race was even more exciting than past Bristol events.

However, nobody expected the record to be broken to such an extent. A total of 3,589 green flag passes were recorded at Bristol Concrete this time, surpassing the debuting Next Gen car year record of 2,690 passes set in September 2022. The highest green-flag-pass record dates back to August 2011, with 2,772 passes, falling short by a remarkable 817 numbers from the recent event.

That huge gap is pretty impressive, so to speak. There seems to be a direct correlation between the new short-package and green-flag-pass. In fact, the recent Phoenix race, which was completed under controversial short-track package rules, also set a record for green flag passes.

The Phoenix race had a new record number of green flag passes after package-change

Phoenix Raceway’s NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday was an improvement over the regular short track layout, but it wasn’t a radical change. Certain issues were not resolved, but the majority of people believed that it was a step in the right direction. Aiming to reduce turbulence for Next Gen vehicles, the Shriners Children 500 integrated a short rules package that drivers like Denny Hamlin thought did not improve much.

With the new regulations, there were initial worries that the race would be boring. In the end, the race was thrilling, with a record-breaking 2,813 green flag passes at Phoenix. It also shattered the Next Gen vehicle era record of 2,584 passes from spring 2023.

With more short tracks approaching, do you think we will again see a track break its own record of green-flag passes? The 2024 season is certainly to get more exciting.

Read More: 2024 Food City 500: Denny Hamlin Crowned Concrete Bristol’s Victor as Forgotten ‘Driver-Tire Management’ Tactic Resurfaces