After concluding in Bristol, the Food City Dirt Race has become a talking point of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series because of numerous reasons. It marked the return of Bristol to its concrete roots after a stint as a dirt track. Apart from that, Denny Hamlin’s tremendous victory, despite the extreme tire wear issue, helped the event gain immense traction as one of the most competitive and challenging short-track races of the season. In fact, it was so intense that one of the NASCAR greats, Richard Petty was taken aback, bringing back his memories of tire management tactics from yesteryear.

Richard Petty admits the #11 team’s domination

At last Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the same tires were used as in September, but because of the track’s changes and the weather, this time they were worn out far more quickly than they should have been. The fierce competition with worn-out tires took the race to a whole new level, which NASCAR King Richard Petty described as unlike anything seen in a long time.

With 54 lead changes, the race showcased some really cunning duels between drivers as well as crew chiefs that completely stunned Petty. Notably, the race was even more unusual since aero tightness and unclean air weren’t a factor like previous events. So, while speaking with Dale Inman, The King noted, “It is completely different than anything we’ve seen in long, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the race develop like what that one did… And it was funny if you watch no matter who was leading or where they was running, they’d be running along there at a steady speed and then the next lap they would slow down on half a second.”

The Bristol race also showcased some tire-conserving tactics and drivers showed how good they were by managing their tires strategically. Speaking of drivers’ dominance, Denny Hamlin’s in particular, King Richard Petty claimed, “Going to Bristol and save tire, right? In every, every race we’ve run so far, there’s been one car that just dominated. Basically the 11 car dominated the race.”

However, all of Bristol’s new experiences made him think of how they used to handle tires back in the 1960s and 1970s. So, the King shared some of his classic tire management secrets that could benefit drivers in their upcoming races.

Richard Petty shares some tips

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In light of the difficulties that many faced last weekend, Richard Petty, who is in fact a three-time Cup race winner at Bristol, revealed his tire management strategies that had worked out great for him.

The 86-year-old noted on the Petty Family Racing YouTube channel, “I don’t know if I was good at tire management or not, but I do know that a lot of times you put brand new tires and the cars would run quicker. So a lot of times we didn’t run as hard as some of the rest of the people did. So that we didn’t wear the new off the tires.”

In that video, Richard Petty’s former crew chief, Dale Inman also talked about how well the seven-time Cup winner used his tires. He pointed out that, while tire wear wasn’t a big concern during their time, it was critical to keep the tire temperature within the ideal range to avoid overheating.

With Bristol’s new concrete track touch-up, however, drivers had to figure out a way as soon as possible to keep tires from wearing out.

NASCAR Veteran Lets Slip the Secrets Behind Bristol Cowboy Hat Tribute to Richard “The King” Petty