This weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway was nothing short of jaw-dropping. While driver’s and team’s shared an uncertainty unlike ever before during the Next Gen era, the fans couldn’t have been more satisfied with the racing that the tire degradation at Bristol produced. With veterans like Kevin Harvick believing that Goodyear’s tire choices were the perfect recipe for short-track racing, talks of a tire management battle returning for the Playoff race at Bristol are on the rise. However, one man who had a brilliant time at the superspeedways seems to be in a mix with NASCAR’s short-track solution. William Byron shared major concerns regarding the uncertainty such a weekend would create during the playoffs.

William Byron believes NASCAR’s short-track success shouldn’t just be a ‘random series of events’

If there are any driver’s results that reflect the uncertainty of the 2024 season, it’s that of William Byron. After kicking off the season with a Daytona 500 win, the #24 has been nowhere in sight of the top five over the next few races. With that said, it isn’t surprising that the HMS driver isn’t feeling too pleased with how this weekend unfolded. Finishing down in 35th, the tire management battle seemed to catch the #24 off-guard.

While tire degradation wasn’t the only thing that concerned Byron, the fact that the weekend consisted of so much uncertainty in the way the car handled from qualifying to the race made the #24 driver feel rather uneasy. He shared his only ask from NASCAR with Bob Pockrass, “We definitely need to know what we’re getting into before the weekend, to be fair. I mean, the regular season is one thing, to have races that don’t go according to plan is exciting and entertaining, but I don’t think that it’s fair to the competitors and teams to not know what you’re getting into going there.” 

Byron felt that the teams and drivers needed to be more in tune with the changes being brought around. After all, this weekend at Bristol had played into the hands of those teams that hadn’t tried to maximize grip from the tire, leaving those that did out to dry. Byron felt that the upcoming tire test would be crucial to figure out if the teams could get on top of things in time for a playoff Bristol race with similar variables.

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Ultimately, what it boils down to is that the #24 doesn’t want to be caught off guard during the playoffs, wanting NASCAR to ensure such ‘happy accidents’ would be more planned. He further opined how high tire wear could also be okay, but only if every team was aware of it before going into a race.

The NASCAR community could be in for heartbreak if NASCAR does not get drivers and teams up to speed

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When the Bristol race commenced, all eyes were on Ty Gibbs, who looked to be the favorite for the win. Not only did Gibbs open his stage wins book by bringing in his first, but he maintained that pace to seal the second stage too. However, the JGR driver ultimately fell victim to Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr’s experience, as they tackled the uncertainty that the track threw at them in a better manner.

With that said, Byron felt fans were up for similar heartbreak in the Playoffs too if NASCAR didn’t help the teams get up to speed. He stated, “I think we need to have a clear idea of what we’re getting into. And if it’s high tire wear, that’s okay too. But we just need to know going in that it’s going to be one way or another because you don’t wanna have, like you said, that first round being at Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Bristol. I mean, you could have like three or four favorites knocked out in the first round, I mean, that can happen but is that the most fair thing? Probably not.“

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Although the prospect of younger drivers missing out on potential playoff experience isn’t a great thing, this weekend at Bristol was just one step in the right direction. Once the sport can get all drivers and teams up to speed with their vision for tire management, short-track racing could return to all its glory.