Last weekend’s race at the Bristol Motor Speedway drew the ire of drivers and fans alike after several people complained how racing at the track had become a boring affair due to the lack of passing opportunities. With the blame repeatedly falling on the Goodyear tires, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson unloaded his mind on social media, suggesting that it wasn’t the tire that was the issue.
Advertisement
He posted a long rant on X, where he said, “All this tire wear talk about Bristol got me wondering… have we ever had a lot tire wear at Bristol besides the spring of 24? Eh, not much of any. Have we seen great races there? Absolutely. Have we seen duds where Kyle Busch leads 300+laps? Sure.”
Thereafter, Larson went on to reflect on his past experiences racing at the track, especially in the context of the changes brought about by the Next Gen car. He mentioned that in the past, the cars had some differences that allowed them to run closer in traffic, and the wheel and tire setups would get hotter, reducing grip during long runs. Despite his experiences with multiple generations of cars, he believes that Bristol has always been a tough place to pass.
The 2021 Cup Series champion also pointed out that in earlier years, races had more natural cautions from wrecks because cars could run closer, and right-front tires often blew out from overheating before making it through a full-fuel run. While he did not advocate for tires to explode again, he feels that NASCAR is trying to fix issues with the current car on short tracks by tweaking the tires.
“I don’t have the answer to fix what we currently have and neither do you but please stop blaming Goodyear. It’s not a tire problem. And also, have any of you ran around Bristol with or without PJ1? Or resin for that matter. Yeah, that’s right… so Temper your expectations. We’re driving spec race cars,” he concluded.
All this tire wear talk about Bristol got me wondering… have we ever had a lot tire wear at Bristol besides the spring of 24? Eh, not much of any. Have we seen great races there? Absolutely. Have we seen duds where Kyle Busch leads 300+laps? Sure.
From what I remember in my…
— Kyle Larson (@KyleLarsonRacin) September 24, 2024
Fans agree with Larson’s Bristol rant
After sharing his run on X, several fans seemingly agreed with what had been said. They didn’t take long to share their thoughts in support of the #5 Chevy Camaro driver. One fan praised, “The fact that you sat long enough to lay all this out is all you needed to do to show the yappers that you’re not afraid to lay out the facts when needed. I vote yes for more KL Ted Talks. Proud.”
Another person expressed appreciation, saying, “Thanks for taking the time to talk to the fans – both in real life and on this platform.” The praise continued with comments like, “Phenomenal input. Good stuff Kyle.“ Another person pointed out, “Hello Kyle, the real problem most of the naysayers are having is that you toasted the field, the rest were very competitive among themselves. It’s that simple.”
While many may consider Larson’s justification an attempt to temper the expectations for the racing product, it will be interesting to see how NASCAR responds, if it does so.
