“Maybe Goodyear just lied”; “This is some bulls***”: NASCAR fans react as Goodyear fails to emulate the fall-off from calendar’s first Bristol race

The Bristol race encountered unexpected and weird behavior from tires provided by NASCAR's official tire supplier, Goodyear. The tires held on for over 100 laps at the world's fastest half-mile track in Tennesee. This unusual behavior caught fans and drivers off guard after their previous performance at the first race held at Bristol.

The Food City 500 was organized at the Bristol track in March 2024, and the tires blew out after 40 to 60 laps in the 500-lap race. However, at the Bass Pro Shop Night race, the tires faced no issues till 125 laps. The tires are not behaving the way they used to.

If the tires hold on and do not get worn out perfectly, the drivers can face issues in maintaining the grip on the track. But if they wear out like the first race drives, they can lose a lot of time in the pits, causing significant damage to their points and standings. Kyle Larson won the Go Brass Shop Night on September 21 by leading 462 laps out of 500.

The motorsport journalist Jeff Gluck also expressed his views on the matter and wrote:

"Something isn't adding up for sure. You can argue the teams made the setups better. You can say it's warmer. You can say more rubber on the track. But they've gone from tires blowing out in 40-50 laps to barely any wear on a 125-lap run? Uh....."

Fans quickly joined the motorsports enthusiast in the comments and expressed their concerns, with one saying that the tires used in September were not the same that were used in March.

"This is some bulls***! Ain’t no way these are the tires like before," afan wrote,

"Maybe Goodyear just lied," one fan speculated.

A motorsports enthusiast wondered how no one could not know about the situation with the tires.

"How can no one know what is going on with these tires? Honestly,"the fan stated.

One fan agreed with Gluck's statements and claimed that the tires used in March and September were not the same.

"Completely agree!! So glad I saw you say something about it. No way this is the same tire lol I’m sorry, there’s no way," the fan wrote.

Another fan stated that Goodyear could not make the same tire over multiple runs.

"Goodyear probably like every other race tire supplier and can not make a similar tire over several runs," the fan commented.

What NASCAR's official tire supplier said about the tires held at Bristol in March

SiriusXM NASCAR Radio had a post-race interview with Greg Stucker, the director of Goodyear, and he talked about the tire's performance on the track. NASCAR's official tire supplier shed light on the fact that they used the same compound in the March race they used last fall.

However, Goodyear did use a new type of resin in the bottom of the tires. Earlier, NASCAR's official tire suppliers used the PJ1 traction compound, but this time they tried something new. In the interview, the director of Goodyear explained:

"So there’s a lot to go through. But we’re certainly looking at every piece of the puzzle from our perspective and make sure there was nothing in our raw materials or any of our processes that would create any sort of difference."

Further, NASCAR's official tire supplier's director praised drivers and their crew chiefs for completing the race despite facing issues with the tires and adapting to the situation quickly. Denny Hamlin won the Food City 500 in March with his experience and tire strategy.