The 2024 playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway was expected to be a thrilling event with numerous lead changes after this season’s spring race at the same venue. However, the 500-lap event this weekend was anything but the same. Several Cup Series drivers previewed the lack of tire falloff as the weekend built up to Sunday’s procession despite Goodyear bringing the same tire compound this time around as well.
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Changes to the track such as the addition of traction resin as well as built-up rubber on the surface of the concrete oval meant drivers were seen stuck behind others with a perpetual lack of overtaking in stark contrast to the chaotic and unpredictable race earlier this year.
REPOST TO CONGRATULATE KYLE LARSON!
HE TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS, DOMINATING AT BRISTOL! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/atjwT0rTo4
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 22, 2024
Interestingly, former Cup Series driver-turned-analyst Clint Bowyer seemed to enjoy the event. He took to social media to express his feelings surrounding the final Round of 16 race and wrote, “This is a perfect track to close out a playoff round. Diggin’ it.”
Despite his positive take on the race which only included eight total lead changes, fans did not take kindly to his opinion. “Are we watching the same Bristol race? This is the can’t pass without lapped traffic race,” opined a fan.
Eight total lead changes, four different leaders, 10 cars on the lead lap, 7.1-second margin of victory.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 22, 2024
“Clint are you drunk?” chimed in another fan, with others following suit and writing, “This race is sooooo boring.” One fan summed up the overall sentiment after the event concluded, “This race is awful, zero passing or strategy.”
Bowyer defends his opinion of the Bristol Night Race
With only 10 cars finishing on the lead lap, Bowyer had a tough task ahead of himself if he planned to sway the fans’ sentiment in favor of what was a race eventually branded as a procession.
“That’s not the point. Stay focused here. These guys are on pins and needles. One wreck could completely change the whole deal,” opined the 45-year-old, touching on the jeopardy that the postseason creates in terms of drivers advancing to the next round.
With the several storylines revolving around multiple drivers, Bowyer’s argument is a valid one. However, if pure racing action is what is going to determine what a good race is in NASCAR, fans agreed this was not it.
With the trials of the Next-Gen car’s overtaking issues which seem to pop up randomly, the sport saw notable names such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski fail to make it into the subsequent round, ending their championship hopes.
