Darlington Raceway is ready for a new kind of race start, moving away from the intermediate setup to a short-track and road-course package. The change ahead of this year’s Goodyear 400 brings a simplified diffuser aimed at trimming underbody aero, cutting downforce, and leaving drivers to hang on with less grip, something Chris Buescher shed more light on recently.
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With the Next Gen car leaning on air from beneath, utilizing a simplified diffuser could shake up how cars run in traffic and through the corners. At a track known for taking a toll on tires, several drivers expect the changes to turn tire wear into the name of the game.
Parallels to the 2024 race at the Bristol Motor Speedway have bene drawn, since it was also an outing where the race was decided more because of tire falloffs and less because of aero grip. But Buescher was quick to pump the brakes on that comparison.
The RFK Racing driver warned against treating Darlington like a re-run of Bristol’s 2024 tire saga. He said, “I would not predict it to look like Bristol one way or the other. I know Bristol’s been all over the map, but I think what we’re going to have is going to be less based on how quickly the tire shreds or grinds away and more versus how the tire falls off on a pace aspect as it gets hot, as it gets slick and almost slimy, and as we get down to some wear indicators.”
Buescher further pointed out that the race may not hinge on conditions to the same degree seen at Bristol, but heat could still stir the pot. “So I don’t think that it’s going to be weather sensitive near to the extent that you see it like Bristol.
“I don’t think it’s the same challenges that we’ve had there. I think you will see it to where if it’s just looking like it’s going to be really warm, I think you’re going to have a lot of fall off in speed, a lot of movement in the race cars,” he added.
Tried to get a better sense of what to expect from the tire falloff at Darlington this weekend and how it’s going to affect the racing talking to Chris Buescher today.
He expects things to be based less on how quickly the tire shreds/grinds away (a la Bristol) and more how the… pic.twitter.com/f1UNLvLbJm
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 18, 2026
Buescher believes, at Darlington, the battle will play out over a run, with grip slipping away lap by lap rather than tires falling off as extensively as it did in Bristol. As temperatures rise, speed drops, cars start to slide, and drivers are left wrestling the wheel. That is when mistakes creep in, and the wall starts to close in.
Brad Keselowski had joked about needing more tires for the weekend, but his driver, Buescher, stated that the concern may run deeper. The wear and tear might not stop at the rubber. And that’s why he suggested having spare toe links as well.
That’s because as cars slide and scrape, parts take a hit, and the toe link, a key suspension component, often bears the brunt.
