How NASCAR’s Option Tire Is Not the “All Out Fix” for the Next-Gen Car’s Martinsville Woes

Short track racing has been a problem with NASCAR’s Next-Gen car and Martinsville Speedway has been one of the most affected tracks. The officiating body and Goodyear came out with option tires as a part of the solution to the seventh-generation car’s woes at such venues. These softer compounds were implemented in the Richmond race a couple of weeks back and received fairly positive reviews.  Now, NASCAR wants to use them for the playoff race at Martinsville. However, Kyle Busch believes that it’s not going to do a lot of good on its own.

Rowdy, along with several other drivers, tested a couple of softer compounds at Martinsville on Tuesday and Wednesday. While he enjoyed the set he ran in the morning session, it did not do him any favors when he wanted to pass another driver. A big problem with the Next-Gen at the track is the aerodynamic disadvantage a car following finds. Clean air is completely cut off to the car behind and without that, it’s close to impossible to make a clean move for a pass. The softer tire compounds aren’t going to help with that opined the Richard Childress Racing driver.

“I don’t think the tire is necessarily going to be the all-out fix for Martinsville and I say that because of the aero deficiency. I was on 20-lap fresher tires than Carson Hocevar was and I ran him down and I got stuck behind him for 10 laps and it was a hard time trying to pass him so that to me is also a problem with the aero still,” he said.

Race strategy goes out of the window if drivers cannot overtake each other despite a clear tire advantage. Rowdy’s comments make it sound like qualifying is going to be absolutely crucial for the playoff race at Martinsville. If that is the case then fans might be in for another Next-Gen short-track snoozefest.

Busch pleased with Michigan result despite missing out on win

The two-time Cup Series champion has not had a season to remember so far. However, the #8 Chevy driver has seemingly turned a corner. At Richmond, he delivered a decent performance and finished P12. At Michigan last Monday, he placed an impressive P4. There was one point when it seemed like the veteran would finally break his winless run but it wasn’t meant to be. Despite that, the RCR veteran was pleased with how his car ran that day.

“That was definitely maybe a little overachieving. Felt like a couple guys behind us were a little faster. We were probably about a sixth, seventh place car there at the end but we had the track position on them, so we held them off and was able to get a spot there on that final restart,” he said after the race.

Daytona has not been the best track for the Richard Childress Racing driver but he is in a do-or-die situation if he aims to challenge during the postseason. Fans can be assured that Busch will do his best to win one of the remaining two regular season races and somehow scrape his way into the playoffs.